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a 



Across the Everglades 



A Canoe Journey 
of Exploration By 
Hugh L.' Willoughby 

Ex-Lieutenant Commanding Rhode Island Naval Reserve 



Illustrated from Photographs 
Taken by the Author 



■^ 



Philadelphia 

y. B, Lippincott Company 
1898 



WO COPIES nECEIVED 







Copyright, 1898 

BY 

Hugh L. Willoughby 



V, 



I I I I ■ 1 I ' I I I ' I I I ' I I 



20 



»0 



80 



.25' 



D 



PREFACE 



F the reader has the patience and forti- 
tude to follow me in my wanderings, 
he will perhaps find many preconceived 
and erroneous impressions of the character of 
the Everglades dissipated. I have elsewhere 
stated the purpose of my winter's work. It re- 
mains, then, only for me to thank those who 
have kindly aided me. I beg here to express 
my great indebtedness to my friend, Mr. H. M. 
Flagler, for the courtesies of his railroad and the 
special interest shown by him in the successful 
issue of my undertaking. I have also to thank 
Mr. J. I. Ingraham for loaning me the com- 
plete and interesting notes made by him during 
his own expedition. The vocabulary in this 
volume was greatly enriched by the use of 
that charming little book, " The Seminoles of 
Florida," by Minnie Moore Willson, enabling 
me to add much to my own stock of words. 



Preface 

For the analysis of the water of the Ever- 
glades I am indebted to the Harrison Labora- 
tory of the University of Pennsylvania. Many 
of my negatives of Indians having been over- 
exposed, I have substituted the portraits of 
Matlo, Dr. Tiger, and Miami Doctor's Boy, 
which are from the camera of Commodore 
Ralph Munroe. 

Hugh L. Willoughby. 

"The Chalet," Newport, R. I., 
September, 1897. 



Across the Everglades 

nary water-sheds. But on careful inspection it 
will be noticed that some of these rivers have 
their sources on land, and run up-hill, emptying 
into no other body of water. In another we 
notice the Miami River to be thirty miles long, 
and the Harney River about forty. 

Probably as accurate a map as any we have 
to-day is that issued by the railroad company, 
and put up in its folders. This is not like the 
usual railroad publication, which straightens a 
very crooked road in order to deceive the pub- 
lic into taking what appears the shortest route, 
but is compiled mostly from the best data in 
possession of the Interior Department. It may 
seem strange, in our days of Arctic and African 
exploration, for the general public to learn that 
in our very midst, as it were, in one of our 
Atlantic coast States, we have a tract of land 
one hundred and thirty miles long and seventy 
miles wide that is as much unknown to the 
white man as the heart of Africa. This tract 
occupies the southern part of the State. It is 
bounded on the north by Lake Okeechobee, on 
the east by the pine-land about six miles wide 
facing the Atlantic, on the south by the man- 
grove swamps facing the Bay of Florida and 
the Gulf of Mexico, and on the west by the 

13 



L 



Across the Everglades 

Big Cypress Swamp which touches the land of 
the west coast. 

Every one has heard of the Everglades ; but 
I think that the general impression of what 
constitutes the Everglades is absolutely errone- 
ous. If you seek information, you will prob- 
ably be told that it is a vast tract of swamp in 
Florida, into which the Indians were driven 
during the Seminole War, and where " Uncle 
Sam" was unable to follow them. It will be 
my endeavor to show, as this account of my 
last winter's expedition progresses, that the word 
swamp, as we understand it, has no application 
whatever to the Everglades ; that it is a country 
of pure water ; that this water is moving in one 
direction or another, depending on the natural 
topography of the country; that the air is 
wholesome, pure, and free from disease-germs ; 
that near the coast and the mangroves the mos- 
quitoes thrive ; but deep in the Everglades, in 
the winter time at least, you can sleep comfort- 
ably without a net. No stagnant pools exist 
for the larvae to thrive in. 

The winds blow gently over this almost level 
expanse most of the time from the southeast, 
though occasionally they come from the Gulf, 
and still more rarely sweep down from due 



Across the Everglades 

North, when the thermometer drops gradually 
to about 50°. During the last cold winter, a 
few years ago, the central and northern part of 
the State was made desolate, and thousands of 
people were financially ruined, by the terrible 
blow given to the orange culture. The northern 
half of Lake Okeechobee was covered with ice, 
and the cocoanut-trees were stripped of their 
leaves at Palm Beach, which is about their 
northern limit. On Biscayne Bay, however, 
the cold did no damage. Northers of such low 
temperature, fortunately, lose most of their cold 
before reaching South Florida, and the usual 
daily temperature of the Everglades in the 
winter is from 70° to 80°. The air has plenty 
of life in it at all times, and is full of what 
people call "ozone." Even the heat of 80° 
seems about the same as 70° in our mid-sum- 
mer. 

Since returning home I have frequently been 
asked. Did you not suffer from fever ? Were 
you not made ill by your exposure in that ter- 
rible, malarious swamp ? I reply that during 
the entire winter I did not have a single ache 
or pain, with the exception of an accident which 
befell me on the Florida Reefs, in which the 
bone of my nose was half cut through. This 

15 



Across the Everglades 

wound, a very bad one, occurred just before I 
started into the Glades, and healed in a most 
rapid manner, though exposed to the sun all 
day. The Indians bear witness to the health- 
fulness of this region. The men have fine, 
stalwart figures ; the women are strong and in 
many instances beautiful ; the children are fat 
and chubby. They suffer less from the diseases 
that Indians are apt to have, and are content in 
their simple wild life so long as the "lying" 
white man lets them alone in the one little spot 
which they have hoped might ever be inacces- 
sible to him. 

Over these watery wastes the Seminole still 
paddles his cypress dug-out canoe, hunts the 
deer and the otter, and observes the rites and 
ceremonies of his tribe, unmixed with and un- 
contaminated by the whites. The occasional 
visits which he makes to the trading-stations do 
him no good, as there he finds the " white man's 
fire-water," which he is tempted to imbibe too 
freely by those who think themselves of a 
superior race, but who, in reality, are far inferior 
to the " untutored Indian" in every moral trait. 

The Everglades came into prominence dur- 
ing our war with the Indians, a war of which 
the United States government has not much to 

i6 



Table of Contents 

¥ 
CHAPTER I 

FAGB 

Florida Geographically — The Everglades — The Semi- 
nole War — Characteristics of the Tribe — Previous 
Explorations 9 

CHAPTER H 

Preliminary Trip — Seminoles at Home — Details of 
Outfit . 35 

CHAPTER III 

Miami — Fowey Rocks Light-House — Florida 
Wreckers — Vaseline a la Seminole — Soldier Key 
— The Habitat of the Crocodilus Americanus — 
The North American Alligator 59 

CHAPTER IV 

Land of the Big Snake — Florida Sponges — Craw^fish 
— An Unlucky Dive — Amateur Surgery — Cape 
Sable — The Edge of the Everglades 82 



Table of Contents 

CHAPTER V 



PAGB 



Fighting Saw- Grass — The Limpkin — Making Camps 
— Sweet Water — Long Key — A Meridian Alti- 
tude — Willoughby Key — The Cabbage-Palm . . 109 

CHAPTER VI 

Baffled by Saw-Grass — Return tn V/iHoughby Key 
— A Fresh Start — A Deai Snake by Moonlight — 
Mosquitoes — Supplies Running Low — The Pal- 
metto as Food 134 

CHAPTER Vn 

Canoeing over Two Incher of Wacer — Nearing the 
End — Welcome to Civilization — Analysis of 
Water — Seminole Vocabulary 155 

Index 185 



List of Illustrations 

PAGB /' 

The Author Frotitispiece. ' 

Map : Line through the Everglades 9 ''' 

De Soto's Map 11-^ 

French Map of 1750 12 ^ 

In the " Hammock" 16.' 

Dr. Tiger 25^ 

Matlo 33 ^ 

Billy Stewart and his Bride 43 ^ 

Miami Doctor's Boy 46 -* 

The Mouth of the Miami River 57 - 

Cocoanut Grove 60* 

Post-office at Cutler 65 '^ 

Fowey Rocks Light-House 66' 

Soldier Key 68' 

On Soldier Key 70 "' 

Crocodile Hunting 73 ^ 

The Haunt of the Crocodile 74 ' 

The Crocodile at Home ']'] ^ 

Brewer on Key Largo 89 /" 

The Craw Fishermen 90 '' 

A Four-pound Crawfish 92 '^ 

The Lookout forward 95' 

Cape Sable Beach 97*' 



List of Illustrations 

PAGB / 

Cocoanut-Trees near the Shore 98 

On Cape Sable 100 

Along the Coast 102 ^ 

The " Cupid" in Harney River 106 ' 

The Edge of the Everglades 109 -^ 

The Noonday Rest "3 

Outlook from Station 2 114 -^ 

Making Camp 120 - 

Outlook from Station 3 122 ^' 

Filling the Camp Bucket 125 

A Meridian Altitude 126 

On Willoughby Key 131 ^. 

A Good Camping Island 135 

In the Big Saw-Grass ^37^ 

A Good Water-Lead 144 ^ 

Station 8 H? -' 

Slow Travelling 148 

Outlook from Station 9 1 5° 

Shoal Water over Rocky Bottom 152 ■ 

Two Inches of Water over Rock ^55 

Outlook from Station 12 I59^ 

Looking for Land 160 

Eastern Edge of the Everglades 162 

The Rapids of the Miami River 164 



ACROSS THE EVERGLADES 
CHAPTER I 

Florida Geographically — The Everglades — The Seminole 
War — Characteristics of the Tribe — Previous Explora- 
tions. 



D 



HIS journey was undertaken in order to 
explore that unknown portion of the 
Everglades into which the Seminole 
Indians were driven during the Indian War, and 
which was left untouched by the two previous 
expeditions ; also to examine the fauna and flora 
of the region in the interests of the University 
of Pennsylvania. Its simple record may help 
to while away an idle hour for those who love 
an out-door life, and to whom the memories 
of the camp-fire are dear. 

Florida was ceded to the United States by 
Spain, in the year 1821, in payment of damages 
done to our commerce by that country, which 
had been estimated at five million dollars. 



Across the Everglades 

Being our most southerly State, and touching 
a semitropical climate, it has naturally excited 
much interest from time to time from the set- 
tler, the seeker after health, the naturalist, and 
the sportsman who finds a variety of game in 
its thick, jungle-like hammocks, and a countless 
number of fish in its streams and around its 
sinuous coast. Every one is of course familiar 
with the general outline of the State ; but many 
of us are surprised when we are told that 
Florida has twelve hundred miles of coast-line. 

The warm water supplied by the Gulf of 
Mexico on the west and the Gulf Stream on 
the southeast (which at a few points almost laps 
the shore), in connection with the warm air in 
the southern portion of the State and the crys- 
talline purity of the salt water in this latitude, 
make the conditions for the rapid propagation 
of marine life almost perfect. 

It is a very interesting thing to trace through 
the various maps of many years ago the gradual 
evolution of the map we have to-day. From 
the very start, not only the interior has been 
incorrectly put down, but the coast has been 
from time to time changed by what was the 
guess-work alone of the geographers of the day, 
one copying the errors of the other, until it was 




DK SOTO'S MAP 



Across the Everglades 

difficult for our Department of the Interior to 
get reliable data with which to make its official 
map, and even this map cannot be relied upon 
very accurately in the extreme South. Our 
latest geodetic coast survey chart is really the 
only one to-day that we can look to to give the 
outline of the State as it exists, and the funds 
at the disposal of the Survey made it impossible 
to do any detailed work further than the out- 
lying edge of regions like, for instance, the Ten 
Thousand Island Archipelago. The geographi- 
cal knowledge of 1731 is very well shown in 
the accompanying reproduction of a map from 
" Histoire de la Conquete de la Floride," by 
Ferdinand de Soto, published in that year. 
Surely the coast-lines could not have changed 
so materially since that time. 

The greatest error in this map seems to be in 
the width of the central portion of the State. 
Cape Canaveral could have afforded no shelter 
against a norther in those days, as it does to-day, 
unless there was a passage running back of the 
very large island, which is charted running east 
and west. The most interesting map, however, 
that in my search for early geography I have 
discovered, is one published in France in 1750. 
This map was accidentally found while on a 



Across the Everglades 

visit to his family in France two years ago by 
a French gentleman now living in South Flor- 
ida, and through his kindness I have repro- 
duced it. 

According to this map Florida was wedge- 
shaped, and a wonderfully mountainous country, 
the high peaks extending almost to the extreme 
South. Now, very strange to say, until recently 
our knowledge of the interior of the southern 
part was about as limited as that of the early 
French explorers; for that portion is covered 
by the great Everglades, many parts of which 
the foot of a white man has never trod. Ever 
since the Indians were driven to the far South 
by the troops during the Seminole War, this 
land, or rather water, for there is certainly more 
water than land, has been deemed impenetrable. 
The very settlers along the edge of the east 
coast know absolutely nothing of what exists 
ten miles west of their farms. 

It is without doubt the peculiar character of 
this great tract of country, which renders travel 
in it almost impossible, that has caused its 
geography to remain obscure. In one of the 
more recent maps the Everglades are represented 
as containing splendid rivers, fifty and sixty 
miles long, diverging from all kinds of imagi- 



ks^ 



Across the Everglades 

boast. Costing so many lives and so many 
dollars, it was against a people which was will- 
ing to live in peace, but which naturally objected 
with all its force to the destruction of its homes 
and the theft of its hogs and cattle. They soon 
found that redress of their wrongs was impos- 
sible, and there was nothing left but to fight, 
and with such a place of retreat from which to 
make sorties they certainly did maintain that 
fight in a marvellous manner. The United 
States troops, during this war, at various times 
penetrated the more northerly portions of the 
Everglades, but, as a rule, the scouting parties 
were obliged to return, having accomplished 
little, through their lack of knowledge of the 
country and for want of food, while the Indians 
usually followed them back on their trail, know- 
ing their every movement. 

One party of soldiers discovered a stronghold 
of the Seminoles in the Big Cypress Swamp 
through treachery ; the only instance on record 
of the Indians being taken by surprise, their 
knowledge of the country and their method of 
travel being so much better than that of their 
enemies. The case to which I refer was recently 
related to me in a conversation I had with Wil- 
liam Mickler, of St. Augustine. A small detach- 
2 17 



Across the Everglades 

ment of Major Loomis's command was on a 
scouting expedition a few miles directly south 
of Lake Okeechobee. William Mickler climbed 
a small tree growing on a wet island, and some 
three miles distant saw a very small column of 
smoke rising from a little clump of bushes, and 
knew that it was an Indian camp-fire. 

With the greatest caution the command was 
divided, the main body forming the advance ; a 
few picked men were given orders to move 
around them, and as soon as the advance should 
engage to come up and attack the rear. A cover 
in the way of small bushes greatly facilitated 
the movements of the surrounding party, and 
the time was so accurately calculated that at the 
first shout of the advance they rushed in, and 
the whole band was captured without loss on 
either side. The Indians were so unprepared 
for this attack that the few guns fired did no 
damage. Eighteen men and women were cap- 
tured. Old Tommy being of the number. This 
was quite a bonanza for the soldiers, as previ- 
ously the whites, exasperated by their want of 
success in dealing with these savages, had re- 
sorted to many cruelties, giving no quarter. 
The government, in order to check this inhuman 
warfare, had offered a reward of five hundred 

i8 



Across the Everglades 

dollars for warriors, three hundred dollars for 
women, and two hundred dollars for children, 
if captured alive. Old Tommy was sent to 
Fort Myers with his fourteen-year-old son, but 
the lad managed to escape. The imprisonment, 
and the easy way by which he was trapped, had 
so wrought upon the old man's feelings that he 
committed suicide by eating glass. 

Many short scouting expeditions were made 
in the northern part of the Everglades, but when 
the troops got away from their base of supplies, 
the travel being slow and uncertain, they ex- 
perienced terrible hunger and fatigue, and were 
glad to return to the coast. The Indians, with 
their knowledge of the country, always travel- 
ling rapidly, were not obhged to encumber 
themselves with many provisions, and easily 
evaded these parties. At last those who were 
not captured and sent to the Western Reserva- 
tion retreated to the far South, and General 
Worth, finding the absolute impossibility of 
getting at them, came to a personal understand- 
ing that so long as they let the whites alone 
they should not be disturbed. This compact 
has been kept by the Indians to the letter, and 
is as sacred to them to-day as when made. 
They simply live in fear that the white man 

19 



Across the Everglades 

will not keep to his part, and that they will be 
suddenly ordered to the Western Reservation, 
considering, as they do, that the name " white 
man" is a synonyme of " liar." 

Search well the history of our dealings with 
this noble race, and judge for yourselves if they 
are wrong in this definition. I may overestimate 
their moral characteristics, but this I do know, 
that a Seminole would as soon cut his tongue 
out as lie. Whenever an Indian has stated 
something to be a fact, or has passed his word 
to me that he would do a certain thing, I have 
always been able to rely upon what he said to 
the very letter. When an Indian is found guilty 
of a maUcious lie, his punishment by the coun- 
cil is always a very severe one. Although the 
Seminoles are to-day perfectly friendly to the 
whites, and have helped out many a lost white 
man, who but for timely aid would have starved 
to death before reaching the coast, nothing will 
induce them to divulge the secret of Everglade 
travel, which they alone possess. They may 
take you out, but never in. Very large sums 
of money have been offered them to act as 
guides at different times. One case that I know 
of was that of an engineer who wished to take 
his line well into the interior ; but it was of no 



Across the Everglades 

avail ; he was compelled to abandon his project 
and report to his chief that further carrying of 
the line was impossible. 

The first attempt to make a lengthened jour- 
ney through any part of the Everglades in the 
interest of geographical research was made by 
Major A. P. Williams in 1883, the expense of 
which was covered by a Southern newspaper. 
This was called the " Times Democrat Expedi- 
tion." I regret very much that I have no detailed 
account of this line, as it must have been very 
interesting, I fear, however, that accurate sur- 
veying must have been abandoned at a very 
early stage, as I can find no map with any sta- 
tions, the line being devoid of points from start 
to finish, and simply gives a general direction 
from the Harney River to Lake Okeechobee. I 
can imagine that the fight through the Big Saw 
Grass, which lies to the south of the lake, must 
have been a very severe one. 

In 1892, Mr. J. E. Ingraham started on an ' 
exploring expedition with Mr. J. W. Newman 
as engineer and twenty men. Some of the de- 
tails of this trip, taken from his private notes 
and those of another of his party, I am through 
his kindness enabled to present to my readers. 

On the J 5th of March, 1892, the party, con- I 
21 v^ 



Across the Everglades 

sisting of Mr. J. E. Ingraham, Mr. Newman 
(an engineer), with twenty men, two flat skiffs, 
and two canvas canoes, started from Fort Myers 
on the old government trail which leads to Fort 
Shackelford. The two flat-bottomed skiffs had 
previously been sent on by ox-cart. The party 
started with a single horse and wagon, a second 
team being procured to assist in the carrying. 
In four days of marching the old government 
causeway was crossed which passes over the 
Ocklacoochee Slough and Big Cypress Swamp, 
which was constructed about 1885. At this 
juncture a perceptible flow south was noticed in 
the stream of water comprising a portion of the 
slough. The prairie which they entered upon 
after crossing the slough above mentioned ex- 
tends eastward about forty miles, and is from 
five to twenty-five miles wide. It is said to be 
the finest cattle range in the State. A number 
of different companies had fenced off large pas- 
tures, running a fence line from a point in the 
Big Cypress to the Everglades, a distance of 
twenty-seven miles. The fence was barbed wire. 
Twenty miles was through water from five 
to six inches deep, at various points the rock 
appearing on the surface. Where there was 
rock the soil appeared very poor, being sparsely 



Across the Everglades 

covered with vegetation. At various points on 
the stock range the grass was high and thick, 
and said to be very nutritious and affording 
wholesome food for cattle, magnificent bodies 
of cypress timber extending southward along 
the line of what is known as the Big Cypress. 
The country appeared to have been cleaned out 
as far as game was concerned, and it is not sur- 
prising that the Indians should have apparently 
deserted a country so devoid of game. On 
March 19 an old Indian camp was passed that 
was occupied by a squaw called Nancy and 
three grandchildren of about two, four, and five 
years, two or three dogs, and a lot of chickens. 
She graciously received the party, and gave 
them such information as was possible to under- 
stand, her stock of English being quite limited. 
The children were noted for their dignity and 
reserve, and were fat and healthy. Nancy was 
asked the distance to Miami, and she replied 
one hundred miles, and that Indian could go 
from Shackelford to Miami in four days, and 
added, with a chuckle, that it would take white 
man ten days. 

Nancy claimed to be the widow of Osceola, 
a son of the great chief of that name ; she is 
the widow, also, of Billy Jumper, who was 
23 



V 



Across the Everglades 

drowned in the Miami River a short time ago. 
One of the hunting-parties found several Indian 
villages, in which were growing bananas, lemons, 
and two or three varieties of guavas. Mr. Ingra- 
ham received information from a man who 
accompanied the party, and who claimed to 
have been there, that the Harney River was 
forty-four miles long with good water. 

On March 21, Fort Shackelford was reached, 
and one load was sent ahead to the edge of the 
Everglades, some four miles distance, by means 
of the ox-team, which was retained for that 
purpose. The entire party joining, a camp was 
made a mile and a quarter into the Everglades 
The surveyors began chaining and levelling 
from Fort Shackelford, and found a drop of 
two and three-tenths feet. An Indian named 
Billy Fiewel was met, and after much persuasion 
was induced to travel with them, but he very 
soon left the expedition and was never seen 
again. The soundings gave from three to five 
feet of mud overlying the limestone. 

An island was passed of about an acre in ex- 
tent, on which grew wild fig- and rubber- trees. 
Even in the saw-grass hard rock bottom could 
always be found with a five-foot pole. Fresh 

Indian signs were seen ; the Glades here pre- 

24 




DR. TIGER 



Across the Everglades 

sented an endless sea of saw-grass. The secre- 
tary, while engaged in writing, was disturbed 
by a moccasin snake attempting to crawl up 
his left shoulder. The only thing in the way 
of fresh provisions that could be obtained were 
a few fresh- water turtle, marsh-hens, limpkins, 
and an occasional mallard duck. On March 
25 very heavy saw-grass was encountered, and 
the fatigue of the men was so great that it was 
thought best to abandon the smallest of the 
wooden boats, and some of the impedimenta 
was thrown away. The level rock here was 
but twelve inches below the surface. A few 
small islands were passed, and occasionally one 
with a little more ground on it. 

On March 26 an unfortunate accident oc- 
curred to the provisions. The corn meal was 
packed with bottles of syrup, which fermenting, 
drove out the corks and was soaked up by the 
meal ; some, however, was used with bread, the 
flour having been all consumed. The work 
through the saw-grass was beginning to tell on 
the men, in the shape of severe pains, cuts, and 
bruises. When camps were made at night 
many moccasins were killed. Indian signs 
were again encountered, their poles sticking up 
at landing-places on the small islands, and the 

25 



Across the Everglades 

ground well strewn with the shells of the Ever- 
glade terrapin which they had eaten. Before 
starting, in order to arrange about provisions, 
the average rate of travel had been placed at 
five miles ; but as this was not realized, it be- 
came necessary to reduce the rations. The 
cook of the party was taken sick and had to 
be carried in the canoe. 

The story of how a nice meal of venison 
was lost is well told by another member of the 
party. " As we had not seen any game in the 
Glades, the guns were usually kept in the boats. 
This morning, as we were strung out through 
the saw-grass, I heard, from those in front, 
shouts of, * Get the gun ! shoot him ! kill him ! 
catch him !' and an instant later a deer emerged 
from the grass in front and plunged heavily in 
the bog, not twenty yards from me. For an 
instant the frightened animal seemed stuck in 
the mud, but gathering himself with all his 
strength, made a supreme effort and disappeared 
in the grass just as several of us made a rush 
to catch him. And when the deer was gone, 
and there was no prospect of venison steaks for 
supper, every one of those fellows, who were 
so tired of hominy, went back to the boats, 

strapped on their guns, loaded themselves with 

26 



Across the Everglades 

ammunition, and vowed the next time a deer 
came they would be ready for him, but I 
haven't seen a deer since, and I don't think 
they have either." The travel through the 
saw-grass became more and more difficult, and 
packing for any distance seemed impracticable, 
A few white heron were killed and eaten. A 
cold northeaster set in, which made a night in 
wet clothes very uncomfortable. One of the 
men had managed to boil some rice for supper, 
but it was only half-done ; there was nothing 
that could be used for fuel excepting the dried 
saw-grass. 

Mr. Newman, the engineer, estimated that it 
was from twenty-five to twenty-seven miles to 
Miami. There were but five days' provisions, 
and it was necessary to put all hands on allow- 
ance, their best rate of travel being three miles 
a day. Surveying became more and more 
difficult, the chainmen, having so much extra 
work, on so little to eat, began to give out 
from physical exhaustion, and for the time that 
work had to be suspended. For the next day's 
journey rather better channels were found, the 
current setting in swifter to the southeast, run- 
ning about a mile an hour , but as the centre 

of the Glades was reached the surface became 
27 



Across the Everglades 

broader and shallower, the water running some- 
what slower. Seven Everglade terrapin, one 
marsh-hen, and three fish — the latter jumping 
into the boats — were caught or shot on this 
day. During the night two alligators were 
attracted by the provisions in one of the boats, 
and had not Mr. Ingraham been sleeping there 
the party might have been left with nothing to 
eat. The red bugs were something fearful, and 
the men were all so peppered over with them 
that their bodies seemed on fire. 

A note was made on the growth of saw- 
grass, and it was found to be three-quarters of 
an inch for one night. Camp fifteen was made 
on a small wet island, on which were growing 
custard-apples. Large islands could be seen to 
the north and east ; the water was increasing in 
depth, in places about two feet ; Indian fires 
were sighted, but no Indians. Food was going 
rapidly, nothing left but hominy, and the game 
was scarce. Three blue heron and an alligator 
were taken, but the alligator was thrown away, 
as none of the party had the courage to eat it, 
though they were really in a famished condition 
by this time. 

[As I have frequently eaten alligator when 

out of food, I think Mr. Ingraham made a 

28 



Across the Everglades 

great mistake in not trying what effect careful 
cooking would have had in getting up a very 
palatable dish. It is, of course, rather difficult 
to overcome the prejudice most people have 
against it. — Author.] 

Fish might possibly have been caught, but 
the time necessary could not be spared on the 
march, and when camp was reached the men 
were too exhausted, though there were lines 
and hooks in the outfit. The engineer, Mr. 
Newman, estimated the distance to Miami to 
be nineteen and a half miles. Hard travelling 
was again encountered, and no place to camp 
was found but the saw-grass, which was cut, 
and the water bridged over in the best way 
possible. The hardships were increased by 
many of the men, including Mr. Ingraham, 
being obliged to sleep in wet clothes. The 
rock below the surface was deeper here than at 
any point met with, it being from six to six and 
a half feet. Many statements were made by 
the men that they saw a high island, or an 
Indian, ahead, and they began to realize for the 
first time that the constant looking at the dead 
level of saw-grass had destroyed their ideas of 
height. 

Wading along almost to the armpits in water, 
29 



Across the Everglades 

bushes seemed to be trees, and a few of them 
clustered together appeared as a forest. Owing 
to the physical condition of the men, all sur- 
veying was abandoned. On April 2 a good 
open watercourse was found, and many of the 
men thought that another day at most would 
see them out of this terrible watery solitude ; 
but they soon discovered their mistake. An 
object floated by, however, that filled them with 
hope. It was a very small, insignificant object ; 
in fact, nothing but a piece of paper with a few 
printed words torn from a flour-sack. To them 
that water-borne waif spoke volumes ; it meant 
that they were on the Indian trail to Miami. 
Heavy smoke was sighted to the east, some of 
the party thinking that it must have been lighted 
by a relief party coming after them. The nar- 
row watercourses seemed to tend too much to 
the south, which caused them to make many 
tedious portages and drags. 

The character of the growth was still chang- 
ing, the brushes getting more plentiful and the 
saw-grass somewhat less and more resembling 
prairie. Islands were scarce, but the range of 
vision was very limited, even by standing as 
high as possible in the canoe. Some of the 
deepest mud was here struck ; several more 

30 



Across the Everglades 

things had to be abandoned to lighten the boat, 
and were cached on a very small island. The 
men became constantly bogged, and without 
the help of their comrades would have perished. 
The rock was about seven feet below the sur- 
face, the water in many places being two feet 
deep. Mr. Ingraham believes that the east side, 
if reclaimed, contains the largest volume of 
muck land. A few more fish jumped into the 
boats, and a few young water-fowl (rather fishy) 
were procured from their nests. All the men 
were showing plainly the effects of the hard- 
ships they had undergone, their faces being 
haggard and their eyes bloodshot. Two more 
of the men gave out entirely, and had to be 
carried in the boats, more things being thrown 
away to make room for them, A meal was 
omitted in order to try and reach an island 
where wood could be had to cook with and a 
dry place on which to sleep, if possible. 

From the top of a young rubber-tree Mr. 
Ingraham saw what he took to be pine-timber, 
about five miles to the eastward, which was very 
encouraging to every one. At ten p.m. an In- 
dian was seen approaching, who proved to be 
Billy Harney, a wiry-built man of sixty-five or 
seventy. An unsuccessful attempt was made 
31 



Across the Everglades 

to get him to go to Miami with the party, but 
the most they could get out of him was, that 
he would get some one else to go, telling them 
Miami was twenty-five miles away, and point- 
ing in a different direction from what was ex- 
pected. This intelligence threw the party into 
the depths of despair, as it would take fully 
five days to get there, and only enough rations 
were left on half allowance for two days. Mr. 
Newman determined to go alone with Billy 
Harney, and see if he could not procure some 
provisions and boats and find, if possible, a 
route to Miami. In the middle of the day, 
Mr. Newman returned and told the party that 
he had gone to Harney's camp, but had found 
nothing but one woman and nothing to eat. 
The woman told him that he could go to 
Miami and back in twenty-four hours, if an 
Indian took him. 

He persuaded Billy Harney to accompany 
him, Mr. Ingraham, and Mr. Moses, Mr. New- 
man leaving orders to take a certain course the 
next day and make fires in the saw-grass. The 
advance party camped on an island at sunset, 
and the next morning, after a very eariy start, 
reached the Miami River, under the Indian's 
guidance, about nine o'clock. The rapids in 

32 




feii^-^yi- --«* 



Across the Everglades 

the Miami were shot, some of the party walking 
around through the pine-timber. The drop of 
the water seemed to be ten feet in three hundred 
yards. Miami was reached at noon, and the 
party was warmly welcomed by Mrs. Tuttle, 
who raised the American flag and fired a salute 
of dynamite cartridges in their honor. After a 
good meal and a night of rest from the terrible 
fatigue, Mr. Newman succeeded in persuading 
old Matlo and Billy Harney to return to the 
rescue of the party with provisions. The res- 
cuing party reached the poor sufferers in due 
time, and every one seemed to get new life at 
the prospect of reaching the end of their pain- 
ful journey next day. 

After satisfying their hunger, they pushed 
rapidly on, and camped that night very near 
the Miami River, where another big meal was 
indulged in. The next day they joined the 
advance party at Miami. This finished an ex- 
pedition that threw much light on what really 
existed in the way of land between Fort 
Shackelford and the coast, and the notes from 
time to time show pretty well the geological 
formation of the surface rock, the character of 
the grass, and the islands. The rich lands on 
which the Indians were supposed to have large, 

3 33 



Across the Everglades 

profitable farms and splendid groves of orange- 
trees and limes certainly did not exist in this 
section. Were they still in the far south? 
Perhaps. 



34 



CHAPTER II 

Preliminary Trip — Seminoles at Home — Details of Outfit. 



D 



T was after a conversation with Mr. In- 
graham that I became interested in the 
southern part of the Everglades, which 
had as yet been unexplored. I then became 
possessed with the idea that I must go and find 
out for myself some of the mysteries of this 
terra incognita. From my early experiences in 
canoeing in the Adirondacks, the Maine woods, 
and Canada, I thought I could turn my back on 
my base of supplies, and with an exceedingly 
small party, a well thought-over and weight- 
calculated outfit, manage to live without unen- 
durable privation for at least two months, if 
necessary, even if the country would not sup- 
port me. I fear I seemed a little boastful to Mr. 
Ingraham in saying that I intended to make the 
attempt to cross the Everglades without sleeping 
in wet clothes, for I never remembered having 
done so in all my out-door life. Let it be set 
down to my credit that I did not say that I 
would, but that I would try to do it. I am glad 

35 



Across the Everglades 

to say now that my trip is ended, that I have 
been successful, especially about the wet clothes, 
as I never have been troubled with rheumatism, 
and if I had not succeeded on this point, I am 
afraid I would not now be writing so comfort- 
ably in my little den at home. 

In making my proposed trip there were three 
things that I had in mind: First, the geo- 
graphical exploration of the southern part of 
the Everglades and the making of an accurate 
line, the stations of which I intended to verify 
with my sextant, as has been my wont to do at 
sea. Secondly, the surveying of a channel 
through the Ten Thousand Islands and a recon- 
noissance of the southwest coast, for the confi- 
dential charts of the United States Naval War 
College (in which I had taken a two years' 
course). Thirdly, the collection of specimens 
of natural history for the University of Penn- 
sylvania. 

In order to be well posted for such an expe- 
dition, I thoroughly familiarized myself with 
the method the Indians adopt in travelling (for 
they alone have the secret). I started in the 
winter of 1896, after procuring an Indian canoe, 
one of the medium size (they vary in length 
from fourteen to thirty feet), with a hunter by 

36 



Across the Everglades 

the name of Ed. Brewer, whom I had acciden- 
tally met. This man had been among the In- 
dians for many years, in his hunting trips, and 
had the natural faculty of the backwoodsman 
in following a trail ; moreover, he was a splen- 
did poler. The skilful use of the pole is an 
absolute necessity in work in the Everglades. 
The Seminole hardly knows the use of the 
paddle ; even on salt water he poles or sails 
round the coast. In the Everglades the paddle 
is useless, and if you break a pole and have not 
a second one with you, you are in very bad 
plight indeed, as straight saplings are hard to 
find. The poles used are procured mostly from 
near the coast. On these poles, about one inch 
from the lower and larger end, a triangular in- 
verted bracket, or foot, is nailed, like that put 
on the stilts of our childhood. The portion 
of the pole that projects beyond the bracket 
prevents slipping on the rock, and its lower 
surface, together with that of the inverted 
bracket, stops the pole from sinking very far 
into the mud. The Indians use this pole with 
a skill that can only come of practice from 
infancy. The canoes are hollowed from a 
cypress-log, and are quite narrow for their 
length, rather sharp on the water-line forward, 

37 



Across the Everglades 

but above-water flaring out suddenly into a 
blunt bow, well narrowed at the stern, and fin- 
ishing in an overhang. 

Though the cypress-wood is rather light, the 
bottom and sides are so thick that they will 
weigh two or three hundred pounds. A seat is 
formed in the stern partly upon the overhang, 
and the surface helped out by a few boards. 
On this seat, which is pretty high, the poler 
stands, giving, besides the push, a very good 
guiding force. The extra elevation helps him 
very much in seeing over the tall grass, and 
judging which water leads are the best to 
follow. It is astonishing how much the bows 
of these canoes resemble some made by the 
Alaska Indians. Formerly many painted their 
canoes white and indulged in much ornamen- 
tation about the bows in red paint, with the 
boat's name in letters on the side. The uni- 
versal color now seems to be black, with little 
or no ornamentation. In a canoe such as I 
have described (built by Tiger Tail thirty years 
ago, and used by various Indians previous to 
coming into my possession) my wife, my 
eleven-year-old son, Ed. Brewer, and myself 
started on our expedition, leaving our little 
yacht at the mouth of the swift stream. 

38 



Across the Everglades 

The sun was just rising, and a pleasant, cool 
breeze ruffled the surface of the river. Brewer 
with his pole in the stern, and myself with the 
Canadian paddle in the bow, made rapid head- 
way against the current, which was getting 
stronger and stronger. The river winds in 
beautiful curves, the trees growing to the 
water's edge, and were it not for the occasional 
cocoanut-tree or cabbage-palm, you would al- 
most imagine yourself in one of the wild 
streams of the Maine woods. Very soon we 
saw large white objects ahead, which proved to 
be balls of foam hurrying down with the cur- 
rent. With a quick turn to the left, after 
about three miles of paddling, we struck the 
South Fork, the water becoming swifter and 
swifter, and the cotton-like balls larger and 
more numerous. We were on the falls, and 
how the water did run ! I could hear Brewer 
panting behind me, but I never turned my head 
or gave any signal that we were conquered, but 
started in on my old-time stroke, inch by inch 
crawling up that water, dodging the rocks. 
After about three-quarters of an hour of the 
hardest paddling I think I have ever done, the 
water slowed up a little, and we could get some 
speed on the canoe. The trees opened up 
Z9 



Across the Everglades 

more, the stream becoming narrower and nar- 
rower, until we came to an opening where 
everything was clear ahead. 

This was the edge of the Everglades, and the 
place for which the Indians make when bound 
to the coast by way of the Miami River. The 
stream here loses itself among the lily-pads and 
before you lies a sea of apparently pathless 
grass. On closer observation shallow water- 
courses are seen running through the grass, 
cutting in all directions, spreading out like the 
lines in the human hand, and whichever one 
you take you regret that you did not choose 
the other. 

Brewer knew the general direction of the 
camp, as he had previously visited it, and, 
though headed off several times, did not go 
very much off his course. It was along this 
Indian trail that I noticed for the first time 
an enormous quantity of a certain kind of 
plant, called by naturalists Cabomba CaroUniana^ 
growing in very large patches. There must 
have been tons of it. Surely this plant must 
be a great factor in keeping the water so 
clear, as it is the same sold by goldfish dealers 
in our cities to put in self-sustaining aquaria, 

at ten cents a bunch. Much of this we poled 

40 



Across the Everglades 

through, and other grasses, of which I will 
speak later. For five miles we pushed out into 
the Glades, and reached one of the large islands 
we had seen from a distance. Rounding a turn 
of the island, we came upon a rude landing 
made of ^^Teckage from the coast, with light 
timbers and planks. The Indians transport 
these very long distances, lashed to their canoes 
on the outside. Numerous poles were stuck at 
random, where they were left by their owners. 
Close to this wharf were a number of canoes 
of different sizes, and standing in one of the 
largest was an Indian working, and doing very 
hard work, too. He did not appear to be 
ashamed of it, which surprised me greatly. 
Fancy an Apache doing even the most trivial 
thing to relieve the squaws from their arduous 
camp duties ! In front of this Indian (who 
proved to be Miami Jimmy) was a very curious 
piece of mechanism. It was a sheet of tin roof- 
ing about three feet square, in which holes about 
half an inch apart had been driven, with the 
rough side up, and he was using it like a nutmeg- 
grater. The Indian was rubbing very violently 
back and forth the roots of the coonti plant. 
The starch made from this plant is a staple ar- 
ticle of food with them. It tastes a little like 
41 



Across the Everglades 

arrowroot and is exceedingly nutritious and 
healthy. Growing in great abundance on the 
pine-land, it is also gathered by the whites and 
converted into starch by a more elaborate 
process than that used by the Indians. 

As we passed on towards the centre of the 
island, we saw a few braves standing about, the 
remainder of the men being out on a hunt, but 
not a woman or child anywhere in sight. All 
had run away to hide behind trees or under the 
shelter of their palmetto shacks. These shacks, 
or huts, are framed with four upright pieces, a 
floor, made of drift-wood, being placed about 
three feet from the ground, on which are strewn 
deer-skins. This structure is covered overhead 
by a thatching of palmetto-leaves. The sides 
are usually open, but at night curtains made of 
canvas or bagging are dropped on two sides to 
protect against the wind and rain. 

It was only when they found that we in- 
tended no harm that they came out, eying us 
curiously and distrustfully, the sight of a white 
woman in the Everglades being of most 
unusual occurrence. About eight men, six 
squaws, and ten pickaninnies composed the 
camp. The squaws were dressed in a very 
tasteful, modest manner ; their skirts, about to 

42 




BILLY STEWART AND HIS BRIDE 
(Showing Indian attire) 



Across the Everglades 

their ankles, were made of blue or brown calico, 
and trimmed with bright red or yellow bands, 
stitched in odd designs ; little zouave jackets 
with long sleeves, made of some bright-colored 
calico, which did not meet the skirt belt by- 
several inches, leaving their bronze skin ex- 
posed, completed the costume. But their chief 
and most prized ornaments are strings of col- 
ored beads. They are very particular about the 
kind of bead. It must be solid and about the 
size of a small pea, they being especially fond 
of turquoise blue and light red. One woman 
had over twenty-five pounds of these around 
her neck. As they are worn all the time it 
must be rather a heavy burden to carry. The 
children were exceedingly bright and disposed 
to be friendly with the small boy of our party. 
One of Little Tiger's sons sold a small canoe 
that he had made himself, and a bow and 
arrows. The bow was about four feet long, 
rather flat in shape. The arrows were tipped 
with empty pistol cartridges, old spools, and 
bits of iron. We had a quantity of beads with 
us, and were able to bargain with them for 
some " sofke" spoons, which is their one article 
of table service, each one dipping it into the 
cooking-pot in turn. It is a carved wooden 

43 



Across the Everglades 

spoon about the size of a soup-ladle. Bead- 
work articles, buckskin leggings, tanned deer- 
skins, and otter-hides were scattered about the 
camp. All seemed to be doing something, and 
went on with their work, not paying the slight- 
est attention to us. 

Two Indians were skinning some freshly 
killed otters on a wooden platform. In one 
corner a squaw had a great prize in the shape 
of a rusty, hand sewing-machine, which was no 
doubt the envy of the rest of the women. She 
was working with great diligence, squatting on 
the ground in front of it. This industry was 
frequently interrupted by the snapping of the 
thread, which seemed to bother her a great 
deal ; no doubt she had many misgivings as to 
whether it would not be more profitable to 
return to her more primitive method. 

The dandy of the camp, " Willie Tiger," 
whose Indian name is " Coacochee," spoke a 
little English. I had made his acquaintance 
the week before on the shores of Biscayne Bay, 
and had told him that in seven days I would 
meet him at his camp in the Everglades. He 
replied, with a very doubtful expression on his 
face, " You white man no lie ?" and when he 
saw us, if an Indian could look surprised, he 

44 



Across the Everglades 

certainly did. Dr. Tiger was very gorgeous in 
his deer-skin leggings, moccasins, white shirt, 
and red turban, which head-dress is a character- 
istic of the Seminole's attire, being made of a 
shawl twisted round and knotted. This turban 
has several other purposes besides mere orna- 
ment. At night it is sometimes unwound and 
used as a covering. The bright colors in it are 
of much value in attracting the attention of a 
deer, and it is frequently used for this purpose 
while hunting. The rest of the men were 
barelegged and bareheaded, with a calico shirt 
belted around the waist. Their hair was cut 
short, with the exception of a straight bang. 
The women wore their hair drawn into a knot, 
and also wore the bang. Silver ear-rings are 
worn by men, women, and children. Formerly 
there was much more hammered silver used 
than at present, as the Indians have become 
poorer and poorer ; many of the large silver 
crescents having long ago found their way to 
the trading-post. 

At different times they have had among 
them men who were quite noted as silver- 
smiths and became celebrated throughout the 
tribe. The squaws make very pretty bead- 
work belts, bags, and ornaments. They also 

45 



Across the Everglades 

make neat baskets, which they use for all con- 
ceivable purposes. 

After leaving the camp we retraced our steps 
to the landing, where we found " Miami 
Jimmy" still working at his huge nutmeg- 
grater. I had left my canoe close to where he 
was at work, and, although there were many 
things in sight which must have been interest- 
ing to him, nothing had been disturbed. As a 
rule, you may place implicit confidence in the 
honesty of a Seminole. Before leaving I 
showed him the mechanism of my three-bar- 
relled gun, which he seemed to understand per- 
fectly, and thought " heap good." 

Loading the canoe, we took our homeward 
course, following very nearly the one on which 
we had come, reaching the source of the Miami 
late in the afternoon by hard and rapid poling. 
The travel down stream was very swift, and 
when the falls were reached the canoe was mov- 
ing like a torpedo-boat. It seemed hardly any 
time before Biscayne Bay was sighted, just as the 
sun was making one of those gloriously colored 
skies which are only seen in Southern Florida. 

I had learned much on this little trip that 

I hoped would be useful to me, as I had now 

fully determined during the next winter to cross 

46 




MIAMI doctor's boy 



Across the Everglades 

the Everglades and make careful note of every- 
thing that I should see, and if possible to plot 
my course in such a way that it might be of 
some scientific value to geographical and zoo- 
logical research. With this idea I searched all 
the maps, ancient and modern, and read all the 
books on Florida that I could find. 

Having spent three months, for the past 
twenty winters, in hunting, fishing, canoeing, 
and yachting around the coast, I was in very 
good training to undertake this journey. Dur- 
ing the summer of 1896 I began my prepara- 
tions, and as an old sportsman made long lists 
from which to make up my outfit, which were 
eventually to be cut down to attain the mini- 
mum weight. The first thing to occupy my 
attention was what kind of boat I should use. 
My old shadow cruising canoe was out of the 
question in a place where the pole had to be 
used so constantly, and she would not carry 
enough for so long a journey with such slender 
chance of replenishing provisions; moreover, 
the standing position is imperative, in order to 
look over the tall grass and find your road. A 
sail I thought might be of use, but eventually 
I abandoned that. My first thought was a 
Seminole dug-out, but thinking that I might 
47 



Across the Everglades 

have to make some long portages, I decided 
that a lighter canoe would be more serviceable. 
I entered into correspondence with one of our 
best canoe-builders, who had been my personal 
friend in the early days of the American Canoe 
Association, and gave him an order to build me 
two canoes. Having spent so much time in 
the Maine woods, and frequently noted over 
what shoal water the Canadian model could 
travel with a good load, and that the light frame 
and planking, covered with canvas, could be 
readily mended in case of accident, I accord- 
ingly gave my order for this model, the first 
canoe to be sixteen feet long and thirty inches 
beam, to be called " Coacochee ;" the second 
fourteen feet long and thirty inches beam, to 
be called " Hissee." One of these boats, the 
"Hissee," was sent to my home in Newport, 
that I might experiment with her and add all 
those little extra arrangements so dear to the 
heart of a canoeist. The " Coacochee" was 
sent direct to St. Augustine, where the " Hissee" 
joined her a little later. A single sail was given 
each canoe (the Bailey rig), with forty square 
feet in each. 

The getting together of a camp outfit is 

always interesting, and the peculiarity of the 

48 



Across the Everglades 

place in which it was to be used made it doubly 
so. There are certain standard things that I 
have used for many years, and always keep in 
a trunk, that I bring out when contemplating a 
trip to the woods. Sleeping-bags I take whether 
I go to a cold or a hot climate. They are simply 
made of two heavy blankets. The first blanket 
is sewed up into a long bag, with a good slit in 
the top of it ; the second is sewed in the same 
manner, but with a muslin cover. The second 
covering serves to keep the bags clean, and 
adds to their warmth by stopping some of the 
air from passing through. On a warm night 
the single, uncovered bag is used, and on a cold 
one the second is added. 

A rubber bed was purchased as an experi- 
ment, but the experiment was a failure, and 
ended by my sleeping on it without blowing it 
up, as whenever I would turn over it would 
roar like an alligator, and it bulged so in the 
middle that I would constantly roll off. A 
rubber ground sheet was of course indispensable. 
For a pillow I used my coat, which I found 
better than rubber pillows. A full suit of rub- 
ber mackintosh made by a Boston firm, in the 
same shape as " oil-skins," which keep you dry 
all day in a pouring rain, I always kept loose in 

4 49 



Across the Everglades 

the canoe, this being the only extra outer cloth- 
ing carried. The suit I habitually wear consist- 
of a brown tweed Norfolk jacket with knicker- 
bockers, brown flannel shirt, leather leggings to 
protect as much as possible from snakes and 
mosquitoes, and heavy leather shoes, with tennis 
shoes to wear in the canoe, which slip off easily 
when preparing for wading, when rubber hip 
boots are put on. These I consider absolutely 
indispensable for a white man travelling in the 
Everglades. 

The clothing and sundry list included an 
extra pair of long woollen stockings, one pair 
of drawers, five handkerchiefs, one undershirt, 
and one brown flannel shirt. The sleeping-bags 
and clothing go into a rubber mackintosh bag 
in the daytime ; the rubber ground sheet is left 
out to cover things in the canoe in case of a 
shower. In a game-bag is carried soap (in 
aluminum box), letter paper, note-books, spy- 
glass, linen rags, rubber surgical plaster, comb, 
tobacco, tooth-brush, tooth-powder in tube, 
small medicine-case containing cholera mixture, 
castor oil, quinine pills, aristol, carbolized sinew 
(for sewing wounds), zinc ointment, and colo- 
cynth pills ; a pocket surgical case containing 
many necessary instruments in a small compass, 

50 



Across the Everglades 

also a clinical thermometer, a small bag with 
scissors, needles, thread, and buttons, pocket- 
compass, small whiskey-flask, veil for hat, with 
two elastic bands, one fitting round the neck 
the other round the top of the hat, two lead- 
pencils, small fishing-bag containing one heavy 
trolling line, one light trolling line float, sinkers, 
hooks, one large spoon, one small spoon, and 
six red ibis flies. 

My scientific instrument case, which could 
be dispensed with on an ordinary hunting trip, 
contained an octant, an aluminum aneroid 
barometer, a maximum and minimum register- 
ing thermometer mounted on aluminum, an ar- 
tificial horizon, a lock level, a light but very ac- 
curate azimuth compass with four-inch dial, and 
two watches in a waterproof case, the watches 
themselves being waterproof, running with an 
accuracy that was something marvellous, one 
having a rate of four-tenths of a second a day, 
and the other eight-tenths of a second. These 
watches were supplied to me by a chronometer- 
maker of Philadelphia, who had been regu- 
lating them on Greenwich time for many 
months. 

The artificial horizon was not the one of 
mercury which I have generally carried when 

SI 



Across the Everglades 

using a sextant on shore, but was a black mir- 
ror. I am aware that the use of a mirror is not 
orthodox, and that all the old books on navi- 
gation say that a mirror cannot be used on 
account of the refraction in the glass, which 
error is so variable that it cannot be properly- 
tabulated, but being determined to do away 
with the weight that mercury would involve, 
and its liability to spill, I made a visit in my 
perplexity to my old professor in physics, at the 
University of Pennsylvania, and when I sug- 
gested " mirror," he said to me, " I have just 
the thing you want ; come into the physical 
laboratory. Here is a black mirror whose ante- 
rior surface alone gives the true reflection. I use 
it in astronomical work and the measurement of 
light waves." It was mounted on three posts, 
with slow motion thumb-screws, so that it 
could be levelled with a small spirit level with 
quickness and accuracy. The mirror was 
backed with brass in such a way that it would 
be difficult to break, and a protective pad was 
always kept on its surface when packed for 
travelling. This was a find for me, as I had no 
doubt that I could use it in taking meridian al- 
titudes, and long and careful experiment in com- 
parison with mercury proved that I was correct. 

52 



Across the Everglades 

One of the most important things in a hfe 
out of doors is the selection of a tent. A per- 
fect tent should cover the maximum ground 
with the minimum weight of muslin, and 
should have but one pole. Choosing from a 
geometric figure, the cone tent seems to fill 
these requirements, and for many years I have 
used such a tent, adding a small awning to 
shelter the sloping door from the rain. I 
thought this was as near perfection as could be 
obtained, until at the World's Fair at Chicago 
I spied, in a corner of the Fisheries Exhibit, a 
tent the merits of which could not be disputed ; 
it could be used in so many different ways to 
suit the nature of the ground. It had but one 
pole, the door was vertical, there was a wall 
where a wall was required, with the greatest 
head-room near the door. A fly was used that 
could be arranged in many different ways, as 
protection from extra heavy rains, or placed in 
front, nearly doubling the available room and 
ground covered. This tent I added to the out- 
fit, with its jointed pole, all stowing nicely in a 
canvas bag with shoulder straps and weighing 
complete twenty pounds. Many a time in the 
Everglades I pitched a part of this tent, and 
made a comfortable shelter for the night, where 
53 



Across the Everglades 

no other tent would have been of the slightest 
use. 

During the summer evenings I made of very 
light wood two chests that formed convenient 
packages to load and unload from a canoe, the 
dimensions being twenty-two inches by thir- 
teen, and nine inches in depth. These chests 
made very good seats or tables. The first, 
which I called my cooking chest, was divided 
by a bulkhead running across the box. In the 
left compartment was the aluminum cooking 
outfit, which weighed six pounds. It consisted 
of an outer cooking-pot, a second nearly the 
same size nesting into it ; inside of this was a 
frying-pan and three plates ; on the plates rested 
a coffee-pot ; in the coffee-pot were three cups 
(nested), pepper and salt, three knives, three 
spoons, and three forks. The pots and frying- 
pan had detachable handles. The right-hand 
compartment contained bacon, portable foods 
of various kinds in pots and cans, also fresh 
provisions. 

I had three varieties of portable soups ; tea, 
root-beer, lemonade, and sarsaparilla put up in 
tablets, and condensed cola-nut preparations; 
also a good supply of chewing-gum (con- 
taining cola-nut). The second chest I called 

54 



Across the Everglades 

the grocery chest. It contained large-mouthed, 
screw-top cans of various sizes, closing water- 
tight, with rubber gaskets ; these were marked 
sugar, flour, salt, pepper, oatmeal, cocoa-leaves, 
cocoa, paint and varnish for canoes, and a 
sealed can of whiskey exclusively for snake- 
bite. In this way I had no fear of anything 
getting wet or spoiling. The canoe might 
upset, and I could go ashore, cook my supper, 
and sleep in dry clothes. 

The kerosene-stove and a lantern were car- 
ried loose in the boat. The stove was an ex- 
periment, but proved a great success, as I had 
many a hot meal in places where no fire could 
be made, and the flame burns well in the open 
air. I have cooked over naphtha-stoves for 
many years at sea without accident, but have 
never felt safe in leaving them in the hands of 
careless stewards, for if one burner goes out, it 
converts the galley into a first-rate dynamite 
cartridge, which the lighted one touches off, 
and there you are I Of kerosene-stoves I 
have tried many, as they came out ; those with 
wicks were discarded at once ; some burning 
kerosene vapor were used for a while, but one 
and all smutted the pots and blew out easily, 
besides using too much fuel. The stove that I 

55 



Across the Everglades 

decided to take with me seemed to combine all 
the virtues that a properly behaved stove should 
have ; its trade-name I will suppress, as I do not 
intend to lend these pages to any kind of adver- 
tisements, though the temptation is great to 
recommend a really good thing. In the way 
of hunting and defensive implements I carried 
a repeating rifle shooting a 45-90 cartridge 
with steel-covered bullet. Last year I had such 
poor success, losing many crocodile on which I 
had made good shots with a 38-55, and rumors 
coming to me that I should probably meet 
with a stray puma or a large gray wolf, that 
I made up my mind I would carry some- 
thing that would be more successful. A three- 
barrelled gun (carried by my hunter), two bar- 
rels, 16-gauge shot, with rifle barrel underneath 
of 38-55 calibre. A long 38-calibre revolver 
and a six-inch hunting-knife completed the 
equipment, with a box containing fifteen pounds 
of cartridges. 

One thing that greatly troubled me was how 
to obtain my distance travelled with any accu- 
racy. Chaining was proved by the two former 
expeditions to be out of the question, and it 
certainly was necessary to have something to 
work up the dead reckoning by, and know as 

56 



?* 




THE MOUTH OF THE MIAMI RIVER 



Across the Everglades 

nearly as possible the distance covered by the 
canoe. I had often used my bicycle to measure 
the miles between the house and the post-office, 
or the number of yards across a patch of lawn, 
and found that the cyclometer would measure 
within ten yards very accurately, so why could 
not some arrangement of the wheel be used on 
water and through the grass ? No arrangement 
of any kind of log used at sea would be prac- 
ticable, so I obtained an old twenty-eight-inch 
front wheel and a front fork which came from 
a thirty-inch bicycle ; to this I added a new 
cyclometer and pneumatic tire, and a band of 
paddles that buckled on the de-inflated tire, 
which by using the air-pump made a very rigid 
paddle-wheel. I then fitted a stick that lashed 
to either side of the canoe, keeping the wheel 
in a vertical position. After repeated experi- 
ments with this machine I found that the slip 
was very constant, and that trailing behind a 
boat I could get good measurement, at even a 
slow rate of speed. 

After completing all the little details of this 
outfit, I shipped canoes and boxes to Miami, in 
order to have everything well in advance of me, 
and left my home for Philadelphia, where I 
spent a month in study at the Natural History 
57 



Across the Everglades 

Museums and the University of Pennsylvania, 
taking many meridian altitudes, brushing up my 
navigation, and trying to work under the con- 
ditions that I imagined would confront me. It 
was my desire to inform myself of the fauna 
and flora of the State of Florida, in order to 
allow nothing that was strange or peculiar in 
animal or flower to escape me, and to be able 
to collect intelligently any prehistoric relics that 
might come in my way. 

On the 30th day of December I left Phila- 
delphia, alone, leaving my wife and family with 
friends, and started by rail for St. Augustine, 
where I arrived on the afternoon of the next 
day. Here I tarried a week among my old 
friends, and then proceeded to Miami. Through 
the courtesy of the railroad company all my 
things had been sent down to their warehouse 
on the Miami River dock, which had just been 
completed. Everything had arrived and was 
uninjured in transportation, much to my relief 
My next move was to communicate with Ed. 
Brewer, who had hunted with me the year be- 
fore, and tell him to come at once to Miami 
and prepare himself for a big trip across the 
Everglades. 



58 



CHAPTER III 

Miami — Fowey Rocks Light-House — Florida Wreckers 
— Vaseline k la Seminole — Soldier Key — The Habitat 
of the Crocodilus Americanus — The North American 
Alligator. 



m 



Y original idea was to start from either 
the head of the Miami River or the 
head of New River and take a general 
westerly course, which would carry me through 
the very centre of the unexplored and unknown 
portion. On mature deliberation I gave up this 
route, and decided to enter from the west coast, 
in the vicinity of the Ten Thousand Islands 
archipelago, and come out on the Atlantic. 

The reason for my change of direction was 
this : Going west, I would come out upon an 
entirely uninhabited coast ; the distance from 
the edge of the Glades to the Gulf of Mexico 
is great, and after leaving the fresh water I 
would not be able to carry a sufficient quantity 
in the canoes to reach any spot where I could 
procure more, and it would be impossible for 
me to indicate a definite place where a boat 

59 



Across the Everglades 

could meet me. On the other hand, going 
first around to the Gulf with a good load of 
supplies and fresh water after making the jour- 
ney across, I would carry the fresh water to 
within a very few miles of the Everglades, and 
on the other side be sure to strike Mr. Flagler's 
new railroad, which was just completed to 
Miami. 

Deciding on this latter plan, the first requisite 
was to procure a boat of suitable size in which 
to proceed around the coast with my two 
canoes, my entire outfit, and about one hundred 
gallons of water. After looking over many 
boats at Miami, I could find nothing that 
suited me, many of them being unnecessarily 
large and drawing too much water. I wished 
nothing that drew over two feet. At last I was 
told of a boat that was on the ways at Cocoa- 
nut Grove, which if I liked and put in order I 
could get on reasonable terms. I made a trip 
to Cocoanut Grove and found a very good 
sloop, thirty feet long, good beam, and drawing 
two feet, called the " Cupid." She had been 
built by Ivanosky, of St. Augustine, and was 
of the type that does such good service around 
that city, being fast, and carrying a heavy load 

on light draft. 

60 




COCOANUT GROVE 



Across the Everglades 

Finding that it would take me a week to put 
her in commission, I returned to Miami for my 
trunk, and moved over immediately to the hos- 
pitable shelter of the Peacock Inn at Cocoa- 
nut Grove. With the assistance of a Bahama 
darky, I put the little ship in seaworthy condi- 
tion, and at the end of the week began to look 
around for a good man who would be suffi- 
ciently familiar with the coast to bring the 
" Cupid" back again after leaving Brewer and 
myself to start our journey into the mysterious 
Everglades. Such a man I found in the person 
of Sam Roberts. Sam was a man of medium 
stature, powerfully built, and of a pleasant dis- 
position ; he was a native of the Bahama 
Islands, and, like most of his countrymen, was 
a good sailor, swimmer, and diver. He had 
spent a great deal of his time in sponge-fishing, 
and was quite an adept in the business, had 
been on several excursions around the west 
coast, and was quite familiar with the Florida 
Keys. 

As soon as the " Cupid" was ready, Sam joined 
me, and after filling our water-casks at the 
beautiful, bubbling spring belonging to my old 
friend, Mr. Kirk Munroe, and bidding adieu to 
my many acquaintances at the Peacock Inn 

6i 



Across the Everglades 

and the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, I sailed for 
Miami. That evening Ed. Brewer reported 
to me at the railroad warehouse, on the river 
front. I gave him orders to procure three In- 
dian poles, and to join me at the railroad ware- 
house, and we would load the " Cupid" for her 
voyage. What a change had been made in this 
place since the same time last year ! — from two 
houses it has been made a town of two thousand 
inhabitants. Of course, its splendid big hotel, 
with every modern convenience, will prove a 
great boon to the tourist, but for me the pict- 
uresqueness seemed to have gone ; its wildness 
has been rudely marred by the hand of civili- 
zation. 

In all Florida I have never seen a more 
beautiful spot than where this deep, narrow 
river suddenly opens into Biscayne Bay be- 
tween those tall, graceful cocoanut-trees, that 
seem to stand as sentinels guarding the secrets 
of its source, the mysterious Everglades. Of 
course, it will all be very beautiful around the 
hotel when the tropical vegetation will have 
grown up, as a large sum of money has been 
spent, and no doubt the majority will prefer it 
as they see it to-day, but, as far as I am con- 
cerned, I regret the change. All who have 

62 



Across the Everglades 

seen the enormous increase of hotels in the 
Adirondacks will appreciate this feeling. But 
in the nature of things the wilderness must be 
gradually encroached upon. What would the 
settler and the farmer do without this railroad 
that now gives him rapid communication with 
the North for his winter products ? 

We must not look upon these things from 
the sentimental point of view. The romance 
and poetry must be suppressed for the sterner, 
material welfare of our fellow-man. Early 
next morning Ed. Brewer came on board with 
the poles. I got the " Cupid" under way with 
easy canvas and ran up the river to the freight- 
house to receive my load. Ed. Brewer was a 
Virginian by birth, but had lived in Florida for 
many years, and had always made a living by 
hunting and trapping. He would sometimes be 
in the woods, and partly in the Everglades, for 
six months at a stretch, without seeing a soul 
except an occasional Indian. He was a man 
of medium height, heavily built without being 
fat, black hair, black eyes, inured to hardship, 
and able to make himself comfortable in his 
long tramps, with a canoe, a tin pot, a blanket, 
a deer-skin, a mosquito-bar, and a rifle, with 
perhaps a plug or two of tobacco as a luxury. 

63 



Across the Everglades 

My experience in hunting with him the year 
previous had shown that he was just the man 
to face with me whatever dangers there might 
be in store in my attempt to cross the Ever- 
glades. Although warned by some of my 
friends that he was a dangerous character, I 
preferred to rely upon my own judgment of 
human nature rather than on unproved stories 
about him. In our solitary companionship, far 
from the reach of any law but that of our own 
making, I always found him brave and indus- 
trious, constantly denying himself, deceiving 
me as to his appetite when our supplies ran 
low that I might be the more comfortable, and 
many a night did he stay up an extra hour, 
while I was finishing my notes and plotting 
work, that he might tuck me in my cheese 
cloth from the outside. A few hundred yards 
up the river brought us to the strongly built 
dock belonging to the railroad company, and 
on it rests an object which has an unusual in- 
terest, as it is the most southerly piece of rail- 
road iron in the United States. 

The work of breaking up boxes and trans- 
ferring things to the " Cupid" occupied most 
of the morning. On the 29th of December 
we started from Miami and ran to Cocoanut 

64 




POST-OFFICE AT CUTLER 



Across the Everglades 

Grove, the wind being hght, and stopped there 
to pick up some things that we wanted and 
could not get at Miami. The next morning 
at nine o'clock we sailed for the South. The 
canoes were lashed partly under the " summer 
cabin" when under way, and when at anchor 
were put overboard in order to make plenty of 
room. 

All along this shore there are places where 
the fresh water comes up through the rock 
under the salt water with quite a head. It no. 
doubt comes from the Everglades by subterra- 
nean passages. The shoal water here reaches 
quite a distance from shore. The weather had 
been threatening, and large masses of clouds 
were being driven by ; occasionally one of 
these would drop its moisture in the shape of 
a tropical shower, that wets you to the skin 
before you can put on a rubber coat. 

At about eleven o'clock we were abreast an 
island inshore, near a little settlement called 
Cutler. It is situated on the Perrine Grant, 
which has been under litigation for many 
years, and has the most southerly post-ofRce 
on the main land of the United States. The 
building itself is a very unique affair, and is a 
puzzle that the visitor is curious to solve. The 

5 6s 



Across the Everglades 

weighty mail matter is handled by the pretty 
postmistress in the body of an old freight-car. 
How did that freight-car get to its present rest- 
ing-place ? The more you look at it the more 
you wonder. The railroad has but just reached 
Miami, and this is fifteen miles away. When 
I visited the place later in the year, I asked the 
postmistress where she obtained her peculiar 
dwelling, and she told me that a few years ago 
a steamer loaded with the running equipment 
of a railroad had been wrecked on the beach 
beyond the bay, and that the box of a freight- 
car was floated to Cutler. 

The rain-squalls continued, greatly to our 
annoyance, but we were fast losing sight of the 
Fowey Rocks Light-House. This light is the 
first of the light-houses on the Hawk Channel, 
and marks the entrance of that peculiar inside 
passage which before the days of light-houses 
was such a haunt for the pirate and the wrecker. 
There are several of these lights that mark the 
outer reef. This particular one was built in 
1886. The French lens was on exhibition at 
Philadelphia and immediately brought South 
to complete the structure. It now shines forth 
to the Gulf Stream bewildered mariner at a 
height of one hundred and ten feet above the 

66 




'•". -sl^ijf*i*2 






FOWKY KOCKS LIGHT-HOUSE 



Across the Everglades 

level of the Atlantic. Around this light-house 
seems to be a favorite haunt of fish ; perhaps 
they are attracted there at night and are too 
lazy to move off in the daytime. Their num- 
ber and variety are simply marvellous. You can 
at one glance, through this crystal water, see 
over fifty varieties. The colors would put to 
blush the palette of an " impressionist." 

The nearest land to the " Light" is a little 
island called Soldier Key, which was used by 
the constructing engineers to work upon and 
for a supply station. The old buildings are 
still to be seen, though they have never had any 
attention or care since. Biscayne Bay now 
began to narrow up, and passing Elliot's Key 
we see a lot of small islands to our left, where 
lies Caesar's Creek, named after a famous old 
pirate called Black Csesar. Countless are the 
interesting and romantic tales told about him 
and the days when " gentlemen" of his profes- 
sion added one more risk to marine insurance. 

All the surroundings here seem to be filled 

with legends ; you meet constantly something 

that reminds you of the old days of the " Florida 

wreckers." On many of the small islands quite 

large sums of money have been unearthed at 

different times. This whole stretch of coast 

67 



Across the Everglades 

has been for centuries a ship's graveyard. Even i 
at the present time tombstones in the shape of ■ 
a rudder-post, two or three fractured ribs, or the ; 
section of a keelson, are constantly visible, and i 
hardly a month passes but some lumber-laden i 
vessel loses, at least, her deck load. 

Speaking of wrecks, a rather funny incident t 
occurred a few years ago. A large steamer was 5 
stranded on the reef not far from Cape Florida ; 
no sooner had she struck than the news spread 1 
rapidly along the shore, and within an incredibly 
short space of time the people for twenty miles 
around gathered on the beach opposite the scene 
of disaster. Two or three families of Indians 
chanced to be down from the Everglades, and 
they too, being keen wreckers, started at once 
for the beach. 

The ship was loaded with quite a valuable 
assorted cargo, and as she began to break up 
the ocean was strewn with barrels, cases, and 
boxes of all kinds. These drifted gradually 
ashore, — casks of wine, bags of flour, boxes 
of Colgate's soap, a carriage (which is in use 
to-day at Cocoanut Grove), and a thousand and 
one different articles. The Indians soon pos- 
sessed themselves of a box containing bottles 
of wine of iron, and it was not very long before 

68 




SOLDIER KEY 



Across the Everglades 

they were in a condition that allowed the white 
men to secure the larger prizes. 

The squaws had struck a bonanza in the 
shape of a case containing Cheeseborough's 
vaseline, which they mistook for some variety 
of the white man's cooking-fat. After starting 
a fire, they proceeded very leisurely to fry their 
pancakes in it. What a dish for the stomach 
of an epicurean, — pancakes fried in vaseline 
a la Seminole I 

Continuing our course to the southward, we 
soon reached the narrow channel abreast Arsen- 
iker Keys, in which there is but three feet of 
water at times, and only two stakes to mark it ; 
these are often knocked down by boats from 
Key Largo. We emerged into Card Sound, 
which is six miles long by three and a half 
wide, — a fine sheet of water with good depth. 
We were now approaching a place that I was 
anxious to visit, as being one of the few local- 
ities where crocodile could be found. I had 
promised to obtain some good specimens, if 
possible, for the University of Pennsylvania and 
the Academy of Natural Science. I therefore 
decided to spend two days in hunting. It has 
been known but a short time that the crocodile 

exists in North America. Usually, when you 
69 



Across the Everglades 

speak about them, you are told, " I suppose you 
mean alligators." 

Early in the morning. Brewer and myself 
started in the " Hissee" with our guns to make 
a thorough reconnoissance of the shore and run 
up any small creeks that we might find, in 
search of these formidable and interesting 
creatures. I say formidable, for in this, as in 
many other respects, they differ from the alli- 
gator. My hunting of the year previous, when 
I had killed three, had given me somewhat of 
an insight into their habits ; but there were cer- 
tain facts in regard to them that from a scientific 
point of view I was anxious to solve. We had 
just rounded a point of land, and were still 
moving very slowly, when my eye caught an 
object on a point about half a mile off that 
from the distance seemed to be the trunk of a 
tree, and it was only when I got much nearer 
that I discovered it to be a crocodile larger than 
any one I had ever seen before. 

Several times I had observed that their color 

was of an ashen gray, but this one was as light 

as an old sun-dried stump, a great contrast to 

the glossy black of the alligator. I soon saw 

that this old fellow was anything but asleep, 

but the difficulty was to get near enough to 

70 




ON SOLDIER KEY 



Across the Everglades 

make a sure shot, for if your bullet does not 
enter the spinal column, you might just as well 
use quail shot. My favorite shot is to sever 
the spine just in front of the fore-shoulder. 
Unfortunately, as he was to leeward of my posi- 
tion, there was no way for me to get the wind 
of him, although I paddled without noise or 
splash. He began to move gently, straightening 
himself up half-way on his legs, which gave me 
a chance to see his full length. I am almost 
afraid to state what I consider that length to 
have been, but as I sent two specimens North 
later in the winter, one of which measured 
thirteen feet, and I had killed several the winter 
before, my estimate of his length must have 
been quite accurate. 

With a gentle slide, and without splash, this 
splendid fellow sank and was seen no more. 
Every inch of that beach and of his huge crawl 
is photographed on my memory. I have vowed 
that next winter, if his capture is possible, he 
may yet adorn the walls of some natural his- 
tory museum. After an unsuccessful attempt 
to get a shot at a smaller crocodile. Brewer and 
I returned to the " Cupid" for supper. The 
earliest account I have been able to get from 
natives of the State of the occurrence of croco- 

71 



Across the Everglades 

dile was in 1877. By a curious condition of 
wind and weather the water of the ocean had 
encroached upon the land, backing up the St. 
John's River and the easterly bound streams 
of Southern Florida. Not far from the edge 
of Lake Okeechobee some Indians who be- 
longed to the tribe that lived in the vicinity 
of the Kissimmee River captured a crocodile 
and took it to Kissimmee, where it was recog- 
nized by the whites as being a distinct variety 
from the alligator, with which they were so 
familiar. 

The Indians have probably known of its 
existence from the earliest times, and in their 
language called it the " sharp-nosed alligator." 
The habitat of the Crocodilus Americanus is 
rather difficult to define, but I think that in 
very early times it could have been found in 
detached families along the whole sea-coast of 
the State. Its propagation is much less rapid 
than the alligator ; they never affiliate, being 
bitter foes. The fights that occur between 
them are very unequal conflicts. The broad 
snout, short teeth, and less active body of the 
alligator are no match for the narrow jaw, long 
sharp teeth, and greater ferocity of the croco- 
dile. 

72 




i II I ■ 



CROCODILE HUNTING 



Across the Everglades 

On one of my hunting expeditions I was 
fortunate enough to find the nest of this reptile, 
and employed my hunter to obtain the eggs 
during the succeeding summer. The eggs were 
given to the Smithsonian and other museums, 
and were the first that have ever been presented. 
I was much struck by the difference of this 
nest and that made by the alligator, who de- 
posits its eggs well back from the fresh-water 
stream on which he lives, hidden in vegetation, 
with a mound erected over the hole consist- 
ing of leaves, stumps, broken pieces of wood, 
and vegetable mould, about two feet high 
and four feet in diameter ; in this the female 
deposits from one hundred to three hundred 
eggs. 

The crocodile, on the other hand, makes its 
nest on the edge of the salt water, in a very 
similar manner to that of the green turtle. A 
hole is scooped out of the dry sand low enough 
to insure the proper amount of moisture (inde- 
pendent of rains), which is so important for 
incubation. The eggs are then laid in layers 
and the sand smoothed down perfectly level, 
which makes the place very difficult to find. 
As I have had but two nests under my obser- 
vation, it would be rather rash for me to gen- 

73 



Across the Everglades 

eralize as to the number of eggs the crocodile 
deposits, but I am under the impression that it 
is far less than that laid by the alligator. The 
nests referred to contained, respectively, fifty 
and seventy-five eggs. I have not been able to 
prove that the female crocodile returns to the 
nest at the time of hatching, as is stated of 
the alligator, but the presumption is that she 
does. I attempted to hatch eggs last summer, 
but not being aware of the amount of moist- 
ure necessary, succeeded only in drying them 
up. 

My hunter in South Florida was more suc- 
cessful in hatching three, which, however, died 
afterwards. These specimens, I believe, are the 
only ones in existence, with the exception of a 
very imperfect one in the possession of Mr. 
Ralph Munroe, commodore of the Biscayne 
Bay Yacht Club, at Cocoanut Grove. The 
present local habitat of the Crocodilus Ameri- 
canus extends from the north end of Biscayne 
Bay to Cape Sable. The group Crocodilus is 
divided into (i) Crocodiles ; (2) Alligators. Of 
the crocodiles there are many varieties, some 
of which are most interesting. I will give the 
general characteristics and habitat of those that 
are known. 

74 




THE HAUNT OF THE CROCODILE 



Across the Everglades 

Gavialis Gangeticus. 

It is remarkable for its long narrow snout. 
The two lower front teeth, and, skipping two 
teeth, the next ones back, run into orifices in 
the upper jaw. They attain a length of from 
twenty-five to thirty feet. 

Habitat. — Hindostan, Malabar, Ganges River. 

Crocodilus Acutus. 

This reptile was first described by Alexan- 
der von Humboldt. It lies in wait along the 
trails that lead through the jungle and attacks 
many small quadrupeds, even the jaguar. They 
attain the length of eighteen feet. 

Habitat. — South America, West Indies, Ecua- 
dor, New Granada, Venezuela, Yucatan, Gua- 
temala, Cuba, San Domingo, Jamaica, Mar- 
tinique, Margarita. 

Crocodilus Bipocratus. 

Very wide, smooth saddle across the shoul- 
ders. Color, yellowish green, with dark blotches. 
A long, pointed snout, with two high parallel 
ridges running from the eye formed of bones. 
Back of the head is a group of six heavy 
plates. Length, thirty feet. 

75 



Across the Everglades 

Habitat. — South Asia, Sunda River, from 
Ceylon to New Ireland. 

Crocodilus Vulgaris 

(the Crocodile of the Nile). 

Four plates in pairs behind the head ; six 
plates in pairs on the neck. The plates on the 
back vary in number in individuals, but are 
usually from fifteen to sixteen. On the tail, 
eighteen pairs and twenty single plates. The 
color is a bronze-green, with small black 
blotches on the back. The sides and belly are 
of a dirty yellow, with dark blotches, but on 
the back these blotches vary with the indi- 
vidual. Length, twenty to thirty feet. 

Habitat. — All the big rivers in Africa, espe- 
cially the Nile and the rivers near Madagascar. 

Crocodilus Frontatus 
(or Short-Bodied Crocodile). 

It is distinguished by its high head, short 
forehead, and broad snout, which is very blunt. 
The nose is slightly turned up. High bone 
ridges extend over the eyes. The swimming 
ligaments between the toes are very short. The 
head is dark in color, and light-brown ridges 

76 




THE CROCODILE AT HOME 



Across the Everglades 

extend over the back. Length, fifteen to twenty- 
feet. Paul du Chaillu (the discoverer of the 
gorilla and the pigmies) brought the first 
specimens of this crocodile to the United 
States. 

Habitat. — Africa, from seven degrees north 
to fourteen degrees south latitude. 

Crocodilus Porosus. 

This crocodile resembles very much the 
Crocodilus Bipocratus, having the two ridges 
running from the eye to the end of the snout, 
but is slightly different in color, being of an 
even gray tint. 

Habitat. — India. 



Crocodilus Palustris. 

The jaw is of moderate width and well 
arched. Color, gray with black blotches. 
Probably attains a larger size than any of the 
Crocodilia, one now in the possession of the 
British Museum being thirty-three feet in 
length. 

Habitat. — India, Australia (where it is called 
the marsh crocodile). 

77 



Across the Everglades 

Crocodilus Marginatus 

(or Marginal Crocodile). 

This species differs from the North African 
crocodile by a curious concavity of the fore- 
head and its stronger dorsal plate. 

Crocodilus Americanos. 

This crocodile is akin to Crocodilus Acutus^ 
which it most closely resembles. The head is 
low, snout long and narrow, with two well- 
defined arches on the upper jaw. The teeth 
are long and narrow, the ivory being very 
white. The two front lower ones protrude 
through holes in the upper jaw. In some speci- 
mens but a single one of these come through, 
though I think these cases are rare and proba- 
bly occurred from the malformation of one of 
the teeth. 

On the back of the neck is a group of high 
ridges, back of which is a wide, smooth saddle. 
Four rows of ridges extend half-way down the 
tail, the two outer ones extending to the end. 
The hind legs are very powerful, but the body 
is usually slimmer than that of the alligator. 
The color is of a greenish gray, lighter on the 
belly, with black blotches all over the body. 



Across the Everglades 

It is much more active and savage than the 
alligator. I have known one to attack a boat 
and, closing its powerful jaws, take a piece of 
wood out of her bow ; with great difficulty it 
was despatched with a rifle. 

Habitat. — The Southeast Atlantic coast of 
Florida. 

Crocodilus Calaphactus 
(called the False Crocodile). 

Crocodilus Intermedius. 

Habitat. — Orinoco. 

This crocodile differs from the Crocodilus 
Americanus by having a more slender snout 
and the plates on the back more nearly uni- 
form. 

Crocodilus Robustus. 
Habitat. — Madagascar. 

Crocodilus Rhombifer. 
Habitat. — Central America. 

Crocodilus Moreleti. 

Habitat. — Guatemala. 
79 



Across the Everglades 

Crocodilus Johnstoni. 
Habitat. — Australia. 

Crocodilus Cataphractus. 
Habitat. — West Africa. 

Following are the characteristics and habitat 
of several varieties of alligator : 

Alligator Scelerops. 

Snout broad, articulations running in rows 
from the head to the tail. High ridges over 
the eyes. Color black, light yellow on the 
belly. 

Habitat. — East Brazil, Buenos Ayres, Peru. 

Alligator Niger 

(called the Moorish Cayman). 

The characteristic is five rows of plates 
around the neck. Color, black. Belly, yel- 
lowish white. 

Habitat. — ^North Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecua- 
dor, North Peru, the Amazon River. 

80 



Across the Everglades 

Campsa Lucius 

(the North American Alligator). 

This alligator is akin to the South American 
varieties. The snout is broad, body heavy, 
eyes prominent, and protected by ridges. Artic- 
ulations running in rows down the back. Color 
black, yellowish white on the belly. Teeth, 
yellow ivory, thick and strong. 

Habitat. — South Carolina, Georgia, Missis- 
sippi, Louisiana, Florida. 



8i 



CHAPTER IV 

Land of the Big Snake — Florida Sponges — Crawfish — An 
Unlucky Dive — Amateur Surgery — Cape Sable — The 
Edge of the Everglades. 



m 



ITH an apology for my slight digres- 
sion, we will return to our coasting 
trip and our unsuccessful crocodile 
hunt on Card Sound. I had originally in- 
tended to hunt crocodile for a few days more, 
but, knowing the water in the Everglades would 
be getting lower as the month advanced, I con- 
sidered it prudent to push south, locating well 
where the largest crocodile lived, intending to 
return in March for a systematic hunt after my 
winter's work in the Everglades had been ac- 
complished. 

On the 31st of December we got the "Cu- 
pid" under way and ran as far as the mouth 
of Jew-Fish Creek. This creek is nothing but 
a very narrow passage, which connects Barnes 
Sound with Black Water Sound. I am using 
here the names as given by the Geodetic Coast 

Survey Chart. Barnes Sound is known to the na- 

82 



Across the Everglades 

tives as Little Card Sound, and the northeast end 
of Florida Bay is called by them Barnes Sound. 
Comparatively little is known of these sounds, 
especially the northwest shores, as the few 
people who live on Key Largo and the smaller 
keys use the better water communication of 
the Hawk Channel for the transportation of 
their produce. Jew-Fish Creek has rather a 
blind entrance, which passes through a heavy 
growth of mangroves. 

The water is quite deep and the current 
runs through with great swiftness, and is a fine 
place for all kinds of fish. The channel divides 
into two or three branches, the one running 
nearest Key Largo being the best. With a light 
wind we sailed across Blackwater Sound, which 
is a pretty sheet of water nearly circular, and 
about four miles in diameter, taking a course 
nearly west, in order to find the opening which 
leads into the Bay of Florida, called Boggy 
Creek, a rather difficult place to get a sail-boat 
through, as the bottom is so soft that a pole 
pushes in to its full length. 

There is a second opening to this bay, more 
to the northwest, which runs into several small 
land-locked bays. After much difficulty we 
succeeded in getting through "Boggy," and 

83 



Across the Everglades 

anchored for the night near its opening into the 
Bay of Florida. From here I took a westerly- 
course, which was somewhat out of my way, 
in order to reconnoitre the uninhabited north- 
west shore of this large bay, and also to prove 
the accuracy of a statement made by Ed. Brewer, 
that a year and a half ago, while hunting on a 
certain creek, he had killed a great snake of a 
kind that he had never seen before. This creek 
leads nearly to the Everglades. Brewer believed 
that he could take me to the very spot, and 
thought that perhaps I might find others of the 
same variety. I have for a long time believed 
that in the southern part of Florida there exists 
a snake of immense size. What this snake is 
has been my longing desire to discover. 

Many absurd and sensational stories have 
been circulated this winter, without any truth in 
them whatever, concerning the capture of this 
huge reptile. A circus charlatan brought a 
python down from the North in a box. He 
disappeared for a few days, and returned to the 
settlement with a twelve-pound snake in a bag, 
that he claimed to have captured on Long Key, 
which is in the Everglades. I am quite sure 
that without an Indian guide this man never 
reached that spot alone. But the fraud was 

84 



Across the Everglades 

quite successful, and the newspapers were com- 
pletely taken in. Taking the sloop along the 
northwest shore as far as the water would per- 
mit. Brewer and I left the " Cupid" in charge 
of Sam, and with the " Coacochee" started 
for the " Land of the Big Snake." 

Leaving the main part of the bay, we entered 
a smaller one, which we crossed, and with un- 
erring accuracy Brewer steered for what appeared 
to be a solid wall of trees ; but on reaching it 
a hole in the foliage was seen, from which a 
fresh-water stream was issuing. The water was 
perfectly clear, and just after entering I could 
see many fish. Reaching for my light spear, I 
soon landed three fresh-water garfish. Con- 
tinuing farther up the stream, the foliage became 
more tangled and made our progress very slow, 
until we reached what seemed to be the head 
of canoe navigation. The scene would rival 
some of those depicted on the Amazon River. 
The hanging vines, the tropical foliage, obscured 
nearly all light, and the air had an earthy, snaily 
smell. 

Brewer, who had been pulling the canoe 

along by the overhanging branches, stopped 

and said, " We are near the place where I killed 

the snake." I immediately felt for my revolver, 

85 



Across the Everglades 

thinking there might be a whole den of pythons 
somewhere in the vicinity, that had come to the 
funeral of their progenitor. The place itself 
was certainly the snakiest one I have ever been 
in. Brewer crawled on shore, with his head to 
the ground, and began lifting up the rotten 
leaves, examining everything very carefully. 
This search continued for nearly half an hour, 
when he said, " I have got it, but the buzzards 
have scattered the bones pretty bad." I jumped 
out of the canoe at once and joined him, all 
eagerness, to find a skeleton that might have 
belonged to the strange variety I have been in 
search of Under the first layer of leaves was a 
section of vertebra, evidently that of a snake ; 
its diameter, as compared with snakes I had 
usually seen, seemed very large. By clearing a 
space of ten feet around, we uncovered more 
pieces of the backbone and a great number of 
ribs. I returned to the canoe for a pail, and 
after a long period of careful work we recovered 
more than two-thirds of the entire body, but 
nothing as yet of the head, that I was so anxious 
to find ; among the last two pieces, however, I 
discovered a bit of the jaw, with a large fang 
sticking in it. 

That fang told me much, as I could plainly 

86 



Across the Everglades 

see the capillary tube running through it, which 
indicated to me rattlesnake. I did not, how- 
ever, wish to decide hurriedly as to this fact, and 
preferred to wait until I had assembled the bones 
into the full structure, at the University of Penn- 
sylvania, in consultation with the professors 
skilled in osteology. I got Brewer to tell me 
again of the killing of this reptile, a year and a 
half ago. It seems he had been hunting and 
exploring up this creek, in order to find a canoe 
passage that would lead to the Everglades. 
Pushing his way through the thick foliage, as 
we had done, he saw a little way ahead of him, 
on the low limb of a tree, what seemed to be 
the largest snake he had ever seen in his life. 
The snake he describes as having longitudinal 
stripes, and not looking like a rattler. To pick 
up his shot-gun and fire was the work of a 
second. The snake was badly riddled. He 
approached with the idea of despatching him 
and taking his skin, when he was overpowered 
by a strong, sickening smell, which caused him 
great sickness of the stomach and faintness. 
He lay in a partly unconscious condition for 
some time, and when he recovered sufficiently, 
he reached his canoe and made his way to the 
coast without paying any more attention to the 
87 



Across the Everglades 



to' 



snake. On my return to the North, this skeleton 
was carefully put together, and it was decided 
that it had belonged to a rattlesnake, but the 
formation of the vertebrae seemed to be different 
from those of the usual variety of the Florida 
rattler, which may account for the observation 
Brewer had made of the longitudinal stripes. 
In life it would have been about eight feet in 
length. 

That great snakes of some species do exist 
in Florida, yet to be discovered, I have not the 
slightest doubt. I pin my faith to the account 
that two different Indians have given me of 
snakes that were at least eighteen feet in length, 
and evidently belonged to the constrictor fam- 
ily. As I have remarked before, I have never 
found a Seminole to lie. I did not explore the 
head of this creek, but I am under the impres- 
sion that it reaches to within two miles of the 
Everglades. 

With our successful find we paddled back to 
the " Cupid," and on reaching open water found 
that it was blowing very fresh, and a tough 
splashing paddle we had of it. I immediately 
took two reefs in the mainsail, and squared 
away for Whaleback Key, to the leeward of 
which we anchored for the night. On the coast 




BREWER ON KEY LARGO 



Across the Everglades 

chart the Bay of Florida is quite accurately put 
down, but there are a countless number of shal- 
low bays to the northwest, some of them quite 
large, the outlines of which have not been at- 
tempted, and as the water is so shoal that noth- 
ing but the lightest-draught canoe can float, the 
probabilities are that they have never all been 
explored. 

On the 2d of January we got under way 
with a stiff southeaster, and beat up to the Key 
Largo shore, finding a snug little harbor back 
of Hammer Point, where we went ashore to do 
a little reconnoitring. Key Largo is one of the 
most fertile of the Florida Keys. It has not 
very much soil to boast of, but what there is is 
exceedingly rich and lies in pockets in the cor- 
alline rock. At one time there was quite a lot 
of valuable wood growing, but the settlers have 
made sad inroads upon it. Small trees of ma- 
hogany, crab-wood, lignum-vitae, and satin- 
wood are still to be seen. This island, consid- 
ering the comparatively few people that are on 
it, ships during the year a great many tropical 
fruits and vegetables to the Northern market, 
the pineapple doing very well. The houses 
are all on the southeast side of the island, and 
have their little docks on the Hawk Channel, 

S9 



Across the Everglades 

where small steamers and sail-boats can stop for 
freight. The people are industrious, intelligent, 
and very hospitable to strangers. 

Crossing the island from the Bay of Florida 
is rather difficult, as there are no roads, and the 
very blind trails, which seem to be little used, 
have to cross several swampy places. A short 
time after our return to the yacht, a skiff con- 
taining two young men came alongside ; they 
had been fishing for crawfish, and had quite a 
boat-load ; they threw a quantity on deck, and 
seemed offended when pay was offered them. 
They gave me information as to where the best 
fishing-grounds could be found. The crawfish 
is much like our Northern lobster, but has a 
more delicate flavor and the shell is thinner. 
Instead of the large claws, it has feelers that are 
quite thick at the base, and more like the 
shrimp. The shell is rougher than that of the 
lobster, and there is more red in the variegated 
color. They average in weight about a pound 
and a half, though one we caught weighed 
four. 

I found these men had been using fish-spears. 

After they had left us, with various information 

about Key Largo, Sam and I started off for a 

good supply of fresh provisions. We hunted 

90 




THE CRAW FISHERMEN 



Across the Everglades 

in vain for the home of the crawfish, but at 
last, after rounding a point in about two feet 
of water, the bottom seemed to be alive with 
them, and in less than one hour, with a spear, 
I landed in my canoe two hundred pounds of 
these delicious shell-fish. On returning to the 
" Cupid" we had a splendid dinner, after which 
we salted down the remaining fish, which the 
following day we sun-dried. A good-sized 
bundle of these I carried into the Everglades, 
and, by soaking a couple overnight, had many 
a palatable breakfast. 

Nearly all these bays and sounds abound in 
sponges, the gathering of which is a great in- 
dustry of the people of the Bahama Islands and 
the Florida Keys, Key West being the great 
market for their sale, entirely by the method of 
auction. Sponges are taken on the coral banks, 
in various depths of water, by diving or by 
means of the sponge-hook. A sponge-hook is 
a curved iron with three prongs, into the socket 
of which is fitted a very long pole. The hook 
is thrown over the sponge (located with the 
water-glass), which by a quick jerk is loosened 
from its root and brought to the surface. 

The water-glass is the constant companion 
of the fishermen here, and usually consists of 
91 



Across the Everglades 

a bucket whose bottom has been replaced by 
a sheet of glass. It is curious to how many 
different purposes they put this glass. I have 
watched with great amusement two darkies 
fishing for large fish, one looking down into 
the water, the other with the line in his hand. 
The darky with the water-glass would sing out, 
" Pull," as soon as he would see the hook dis- 
appear in a fish's mouth ; his companion would 
haul in, perhaps, a thirty-pound mutton-fish. 
The appearance of a sponge when taken from 
the bottom is not the light, springy, soft, yel- 
low-colored affair that we are accustomed to. 
The general shape is similar, but the surface is 
smooth, with the exception of a few sharp vol- 
cano-like craters on the top ; in color as black 
as your hat, and to the touch like soft india- 
rubber. 

Like the anemone, it has life like a fish, but 
grows to the bottom like a plant. What an- 
noys the sponge-fisherman is, that he sees so 
many sponges of different kinds before he meets 
one that is marketable. The largest of the 
worthless kind is the " Loggerhead." This 
sponge is on the bottom in enormous quanti- 
ties. It is the shape of a round life-preserver, 
and sometimes attains the diameter of five feet. 

92 




A FOUR-POUND CRAWFISH 



Across the Everglades 

Then there is the potato-sponge, and several 
curious varieties which have sharp spines 
through them, that hurt the hands very badly 
when pressed. Neptune's cup is also another 
variety. These sponges are known at a long 
distance by the expert, and are passed by, but 
the beginner is apt to bring many to the sur- 
face before he recognizes them. The sponges 
that are marketable are the glove, sheep's-wool, 
grass, and yellow. These vary somewhat 
among themselves in quality. 

I have a sheep's-wool in my possession that 
is larger than my head, but so soft that I can 
put it in my closed hand and it cannot be seen. 

Sponge-fishing and the examination of the 
wonderful marine life on the coral bottom 
through the glass has always had a great fasci- 
nation for me, and my fondness for sponge- 
diving caused the only accident that occurred 
to me during the winter. While at our anchor- 
age, near Hammer Point, Sam expressed his 
desire to take a paddle in one of the canoes, so 
I pushed off with him in the " Hissee." Sam 
is a good sailor and oarsman, but the quick 
motion of the narrower boat was too much for 
his accuracy of balance and we had not pro- 
ceeded far before he made a quick side move- 

93 



Across the Everglades 

ment that capsized the canoe, throwing us both 
into the water. I righted the canoe, and after 
baUng her out we returned to the " Cupid," 
which was not far away. Regaining the deck, 
I took off my wet clothes, and while undress- 
ing I saw on the bottom a sponge that seemed 
a good one, and, wishing to prolong my bath, 
prepared to make a dive, I was perfectly well 
aware that we were anchored in about five feet 
of water, and that a flat dive was necessary, but 
I had not noticed that in taking off my clothes 
I had made the deck very wet and slippery, and 
just before jumping my feet went from under 
me backward. I entered the water in nearly a 
vertical position, and struck the bottom just at 
a place where there was a sharp piece of coral 
sticking up. This made a gash in my fore- 
head and cut half-way through the bone of 
my nose like a knife, with a smaller slit run- 
ning nearly to the end. With great difficulty 
I regained the deck, with the help of the two 
men, for I was greatly stunned by the blow and 
had swallowed a great deal of salt-water. A 
quantity of blood was running down my chest, 
and a terrible spectacle I must have presented, 
as I could see by the expression on the faces 
of my two companions. 

94 




THE LOOKOUT FORWARD 



Across the Everglades 

I said to Sam, " If I am going to have any 
nose the rest of my Hfe, you and Brewer must 
assist me in a little surgery. Hand me the bag 
that contains my surgical case." 

He did this as quickly as possible. I selected 
a flesh needle of the proper size, then drew from 
the bottle the medium carbolized sinew, with 
which I threaded the needle. Washing the 
wound with fresh water, I felt the parts carefully 
to see where the stitches were to go. I told 
Sam that I depended on him to make a good 
flat knot and drive the needle through where I 
directed him, as light stitches might pull out 
and would be of no use. I told him that I was 
suffering very little, that the pain would come 
to-morrow, that he must not be unnerved by 
the amount of blood, and that I could lose 
much more, and that without fainting. So we 
set to work, and in a short time completed a 
good bit of amateur surgery, which has been 
pronounced by a skilful surgeon as good a 
piece of work as could have been done under 
the most favorable circumstances at home. 

I have always been very grateful to Sam for 
his efficient aid, for, blinded with blood, without 
his eyes and hands I could have done but little, 
and we were a hundred miles away from a doc- 

9S 



Across the Everglades 

tor. Brewer helped also as much as he could, 
and did quick work in getting me out of the 
water. It seems strange how one accident is so 
often followed by another. First the upsetting 
of the canoe, then my unfortunate dive. Some 
of the people in Miami had insisted that the 
Everglade business was merely a blind ; that 
our real destination was Cuba. If they could 
have seen me at this time, they would have 
been certain that I had been fighting for Cuba's 
freedom. 

We got under way the next morning and 
ran through a very narrow channel between two 
banks, but the sun, being in the right direction, 
helped us very much. By running by the color 
of the water, one becomes quite expert after a 
while in judging the depth. Leaving Cotton 
Key and Bird Bush on our left, we took a 
course which led us between Upper and Lower 
Matecumbe Islands, into the Hawk Channel, in 
order to avoid some very shoal water, that 
stretches across the Bay of Florida almost to 
the main land. 

In the opening between the two islands we 
very soon sighted Indian Key. It was on this 
Key that Dr. Perrine was killed by the Indians 
during the Seminole War, and his children so 

96 




CAPE SABLE BEACH 



Across the Everglades 

miraculously escaped by hiding in a turtle-pen. 
The island is high, with deep water around it, 
and has about ten acres of good land. We 
landed on the northeast end of Lower Mate- 
cumbe to take a stroll among the cocoanut- 
trees and allay our thirst with the cool milk, 
which was a great relief from our barrelled 
water. 

After dinner we skirted the shore of Lower 
Matecumbe and swung sharply round the point, 
dodging the banks, to a snug little anchorage 
for the night. The wound in my face was 
doing well ; my nose felt about two inches 
wide. As it was originally of generous propor- 
tions, I was a little curious as to the ultimate 
result. 

On the 4th of January, after a comfortable 
breakfast of crawfish and green turtle, we shaped 
our course for Cape Sable. The detour to Lower 
Matecumbe Island was necessary in order to 
avoid the very shoal water that extends over 
the east end of the Bay of Florida. Carefully 
feeling our way through the gaps between the 
banks, with a light wind, we made very good 
headway. At noon, having a good natural 
horizon, I took a meridian altitude for practice, 
to see how my instruments were working, and 
7 91 



Across the Everglades 

made out my latitude and longitude within a 
mile and a half of what the chart gave, deter- 
mined by cross bearings on known islands. 

We reached Cape Sable (Southeast Cape) 
early in the afternoon, and came to anchor near 
a small schooner loaded with wood. Brewer 
and I took a canoe and landed on the extreme 
point. The first thing I saw was the skull of 
what must have been a turtle of enormous 
size ; it was white and water-worn, eleven 
inches wide and a foot long. I threw it at 
once into the canoe, that we had hauled upon 
the beach, thinking it would make a pleasant 
souvenir of the most southerly point of the 
United States, to put in my den. We walked 
around the point along a very pretty sand beach, 
and watched the shark and tarpon that were 
occasionally rising to the surface. About a 
mile from where we were a large bunch of 
CO coanut- trees reached to the water's edge. 
This is a part of a plantation that was started 
many years ago, but the people who lived there 
had deserted it. We examined an old house 
which had signs of being occupied by a darky, 
but no one was in sight. There was an air of 
desolation about the place, and, looking out 
upon the Gulf, not a sail could be seen. 

9S 




COCOANUT-TREES NEAR THE SHORE 



Across the Everglades 

On returning to the " Cupid" I received a 
hail from an old man on the wood schooner 
(that we had supposed was without a crew), 
asking me if I could send a boat ashore to get 
two of his men, who had been cutting wood, as 
they had no small boat, and otherwise would 
have to swim. I immediately despatched 
Brewer in the " Coacochee." When he re- 
turned from his errand I took the canoe to 
make a visit. I found a very dilapidated old 
craft about fifty feet long that was leaking 
badly. The captain had evidently looked upon 
us with a great deal of suspicion, having mis- 
taken us for Cuban filibusters. Can it be won- 
dered at? My own appearance at this time 
must have intensified this idea. I was sun- 
burned to the color of old mahogany, and had 
a cross bandage over my forehead and nose. 
He implored me to let him have a little sugar 
and coffee, as they were in an almost starving 
condition, the food having given out two weeks 
before ; his men had been delayed in getting 
the lumber out, also by the mosquitoes that 
had infested the place where they were chopping 
to such an extent that one man nearly lost his 
life. Their faces and hands certainly bore evi- 
dence to the truth of this statement. I glad- 

99 



Across the Everglades 

dened the old man's heart by sending him a 
good supply of coffee, sugar, tobacco, and 
some of our salted crawfish. 

It was not long before I saw the smoke of a 
pine-knot fire started in his sand-box on deck. 
We got under way the next morning and 
surveyed a channel along shore some fifteen 
miles to the eastward, finding six feet of water, 
where the Coast Survey Chart marks one. I 
carefully made up my corrections for future 
use, as I found some splendid tarpon ground. 
On Wednesday, January 6, we started with a 
heavy northeaster and ran for Cape Sable; 
on rounding it the wind veered to the north- 
west, and three reefs and bobbed jib were 
in order. All day we thrashed to windward 
against a heavy sea, which kept us working at 
the pump constantly. After getting by the 
Northwest Cape the wind stopped a little and 
we were enabled to gain ground. The heavy 
squalls would strike so hard and so quickly 
that I became very much exhausted with the 
steering, but did not like to turn back, as I be- 
lieved that towards afternoon the heaviest wind 
would be over, which proved to be the case, 
and I knew that as soon as we could get a little 
farther up the coast we would have good har- 




ON CAPE SABLE 



Across the Everglades ^ 

I 
bors to depend on. Early in the afternoon we 

were abreast of what is known as Shark River. 
Why Shark River is not easy to decide, for 
it is merely an opening among the many that 
lead through the Ten Thousand Islands Archi- 
pelago. The real mouths of the Shark and 
Harney Rivers are about fifteen miles back of 
the islands. Taking this opening, we ran into 
perfectly smooth water, letting go our anchor 
to cook and have a rest. Very few people ever 
travel among these islands, and many have lost 
their way and almost starved to death. The 
shore appearance is very deceptive. It would 
be supposed such very large trees could only 
be supported by hard deep soil, but such is not 
the case. On landing on some of the islands, 
we found them to be low and covered with two 
varieties of mangrove, the trees having large 
trunks and growing to the height of from fifty 
to sixty feet. By jumping on the ground you 
can shake it for many yards. It seems to con- 
sist of nothing but a mass of floating roots. 
These islands cover an area of about seventy- 
five miles by fifty. 

The Geodetic Chart merely indicates the 
edges lying on the Gulf of Mexico, and has 
attempted nothing of the inside work ; no sur- 



Across the Everglades 

veys of any kind have been made. I soon 
discovered that all the data given in the land- 
maps were entirely erroneous. The lack of 
knowledge of the depth of water existing here 
had been of great disadvantage in working out 
certain problems at the Naval War College. I 
had decided before leaving home that, could 
I spare the time from the main object of my 
trip, I would carefully sound out and familiarize 
myself with some of the channels through this 
labyrinth, which would permit me to pilot a 
torpedo-boat or fleet of boats operating on the 
coast. As this matter is somewhat confidential 
in its nature, I will omit mention of the time 
occupied by my hydrographic work and take 
up my narrative at the mouth of the Harney 
River, which as the crow flies is nine miles 
from the Gulf 

The water here became perfectly fresh, and 
as we ascended the current got stronger. The 
bottom is formed of coralline limestone and is 
smooth, but higher up the character of the rock 
is jagged, so much so that a mile before reaching 
the source in the Everglades we were brought to 
a stand-still and cast anchor. Here I decided on 
making my first Everglade station, and the next 
day, taking my instruments and an axe ashore, 




ALONG THE COAST 



Across the Everglades 

I made a clearing, and with my sextant and 
artificial horizon took a meridian altitude. In 
the afternoon I decided to make a preliminary 
reconnoissance of the rest of the river and cut 
out timber in order to let our loaded canoes 
pass. Sam had never seen the Everglades, and 
begged to be taken along, that he might judge 
of our wisdom in trying to cross to the Atlan- 
tic. After a good dinner. Brewer, Sam, and I 
started up the stream, which at this point was 
not more than fifty feet wide. The rough, 
rock formation of the bottom still continued, 
the banks approaching each other gradually 
until, after paddling three-quarters of a mile, the 
foliage met overhead and we were obliged to 
lie in the bottom of the canoe, dragging her 
along the narrow water-way, that was hardly 
wider than our beam. 

Here we found for the first time that we 
were on a travelled Indian route. The fallen 
trees and branches had been cut out just the 
right width to admit of the passing of a canoe ; 
some cuts must have been made many years 
ago, while others were evidently made within 
the year. The water still ran swiftly. Just be- 
fore entering the tangle of vines we surprised 

two wood-ibis, that I thought might prove 

103 



Across the Everglades 

edible. The range was not more than thirty- 
yards, and I killed them both with a well- 
directed right and left from the shot-gun. But 
a little way farther and an opening appeared, 
letting in a flood of daylight, and we suddenly 
burst into the pathless Everglades. Here was 
the source of the Harney River very closely 
defined. We were standing on the rim that 
dams up that great basin of shoal water, with 
so few outlets that except in very dry seasons 
it cannot drain itself What a sea of grass ! 
What was there beyond that horizon before 
reaching the shore of the Atlantic ? Did those 
wonderfully fertile islands exist, the secret of 
which is so strictly guarded by the Seminole 
from the white man *? Were great springs and 
lakes to be found as the main supply of all this 
water, which cannot alone be accounted for by 
the rainfall ? Does yonder horizon cover the 
land of the Big Snake? These and many 
other questions presented themselves as I gazed 
upon that apparently limitless grassy sea. 

The silence was broken by Sam, who said, 
" I am glad I have seen this ; it looks like a 
mighty hard place to travel in, and I can easily 
see how people have lost their way in going a 

mile. I think / can get back to Miami by the 
104 



Across the Everglades 

coast a month or so before you are heard of." 
A few small scattered islands can be seen to the 
east close by ; to the southeast a line of trees 
which define the edge of the Glades. About a 
mile from us is the source of the Shark River, 
in which the water is not so deep as the Har- 
ney. The Indians seldom use it for canoe- 
travel. The Harney River also strikes a better 
point, from which the Big Cypress can be 
reached to the north. Along the edge of the 
Big Cypress Swamp is a favorite place for the 
Indians to hunt the otter. 

Before leaving Miami I had seen Robert 
Osceola in his canoe, who had just come across 
the Everglades with nineteen otter-hides, to sell 
at the trading-post. He said, "All Indians 
over Big Cypress ; big otter-hunt ; stay good 
while." I was glad to hear this, for it was just 
as well that they should not know that I was 
penetrating into what they consider is their 
country, and if they should see any of my 
scientific instruments they would jump at the 
conclusion that I was employed by the govern- 
ment, and (though they will probably never 
raise their hand against the white man again) 
might make things unpleasant. 

With the northeasterly route intended, it was 
105 



Across the Everglades 

not probable that we should meet any Indians, 
even if we should pass their camps ; and upon 
these great winter hunts they are always accom- 
panied by their squaws and children. As I 
knew, from the experience of others, how use- 
less it was to obtain any travelling information 
from them, my wish was, if possible, that they 
should not even know that I was in the Ever- 
glades. If I had started from Miami, this 
would have been impossible, as some of their 
runners would have been encountered, and in a 
week all the Indians in South Florida would 
have known that " Willie Bee," as they had 
named me, who usually travelled in one of their 
canoes, was going to try and cross the Ever- 
glades. Not meeting any Indians on the coast, 
my start and my entrance into the Glades by 
the Harney River was unknown to them. 

After taking a short rest we retraced our 
steps through the hole in the wall of tropical 
foliage, where the river starts, and, the current 
aiding us greatly, we soon reached the sloop. 
It was getting so late in the afternoon that 
taking photographs seemed rather uncertain, but 
as we were to make our start the next day in 
the canoes, it would be my last chance to get 
a picture of the " Cupid." This negative, as I 

lo6 




.,^1^ 



THE " CUPID" IN HARNEY RIVER 



Across the Everglades 

feared, turned out under-exposed. The photo- 
graphs taken with my three-and-a-half-square 
film camera, to illustrate this book, have proved 
fairly good, considering that some of the choicest 
bits I had wished to reproduce were usually 
caught late in the afternoon, and our starts 
were made before the sun rose in the morning. 
Films are never as satisfactory as dry plates. I 
regretted very much that economy in weight 
and the liability to breakage forbade my using 
them. . 

The night proved very cool, the minimum 
registering thermometer showing 42.5°, a stiff 
norther having blown during the night. This 
meant a killing frost for North Florida. Early 
on the morning of the 9th we began sorting 
the outfit to go in the canoes, leaving on board 
the " Cupid" a good supply of groceries for her 
return trip, taking a good bundle of salted craw- 
fish, a gallon can of kerosene for each canoe, 
a brush-hook, two Newhouse traps, two cheese- 
cloth mosquito-bars, and my Maine woods 
axe, the only things added to the outfit already 
described. We divided the load between the 
two canoes, the grocery-chest going in my boat 
and the cooking-chest in Brewer's. When com- 
pletely loaded up I found that the canoes were 
107 



Across the Everglades 

not in the least overweighted, and would natu- 
rally get lighter as we progressed. After bidding 
Sam adieu and giving him a letter to mail at 
Miami (written on a piece of wrapping-paper), 
at half-past nine I gave the order to shove off. 



io8 



THE EDGE OF THE EVERGLADES 






CHAPTER V 

Fighting Saw-Grass — The Limpkin — Making Camps — 
Sweet Water — Long Key — A Meridian Altitude — 
Willoughby Key — The Cabbage-Palm. 



UR reconnoissance of the previous day- 
helped us very much in the ascent of 

1 the river. It was not very long before 

we emerged from the woods, on the edge of the 
Everglades, where we made a halt to give me 
time to adjust the bicycle wheel to my canoe 
and get my field-book, pencil, and compass 
ready to take my courses and lay down my dis- 
tance. Brewer has a way of his own in figuring 
miles by the number of poles required. I told 
him to make an independent calculation on 
each distance run, which would give me a third 
check on my own work ; it was always a sur- 
prise to me how his crude reckoning tallied 
with my cyclometer. My general plan was to 
take a distant object as a sub-station, and when 
it was reached to work up my dead reckoning 
to it, then at noon, whenever an opportunity 

offered, to take a meridian altitude with my 
109 



Across the Everglades 

sextant to more accurately establish my latitude 
and longitude. There seems to be plenty of 
water, and most of the leads have been good, 
enabling me to go in a northeasterly direction, 
but much dodging around is necessary, to avoid 
heavy bunches of grass, of which about three 
varieties are encountered. First, the matted, 
half-floating grass, which where the water is 
low gives some trouble and hard pushing, but 
ordinarily is not noticed. Secondly, the round 
grass, which is more abundant on the eastern 
edge. Thirdly, the saw-grass, which is the 
worst of all. 

When the rock is near the surface, with 
little soil, this saw-grass grows to a height of 
■ about four feet, but where the soil is deeper it 
has very little water around its roots and reaches 
a height of ten feet. This is the great barrier 
to Everglade travel ; it pays better to go twenty- 
five miles around than half a mile through. 
What makes this grass so formidable and so 
much to be dreaded is the saw-like edge with 
which it is armed on three sides. If you get a 
blade between your hand and the pole, it will 
cut you to the bone, with a jagged gash that 
takes long to heal. The nose and face suffer 
much. When very thick, pushing through it 



Across the Everglades 

becomes almost impossible. To cut it down 
ahead leaves a short stubble that spikes the 
canoe. The best method is to push from the 
stern, your feet and legs protected by rubber 
hip-boots, the canoe dividing the grass on either 
side ahead. If, however, you should have very 
much of this to do, the upper parts of the boots 
will be cut through. This happened to me 
once, but I had repair cloth and cement, with 
which I mended them. Game was very plentiful 
on the edge of the Glades, but as we advanced 
to the interior it became less abundant. But 
having found deer a long way from solid land, 
we hoped to come across them again. We saw 
the white egret (plume birds) in every direction. 
On a little island that we passed, about twenty 
feet long, was the nest of a blue heron, with 
young ones about a week old. Two large 
ducks flew up ahead of us, which were about 
the size of brant, and are of a variety peculiar 
to the Everglades ; they are very good eating. 
A bird which we became intimately acquainted 
with later on, and which we then saw for the 
first time, was the limpkin (suborder, Ralli ; 
family Aramidae ; genus, Aramus ; species, 
Aramus Giganteus). 

If an English snipe were three feet high he 



Across the Everglades 

would look very much like this bird. In fact, 
the resemblance was so great that I had no 
hesitation in cooking and eating the first that I 
shot, and found them really very good, espe- 
cially some of the younger birds. The limpkin 
is a native of Florida, where it breeds freely. 
It is also found in Central America and the 
West India Islands. Authorities state that it 
was once a very abundant species, but is now 
seldom seen, except in the less inhabited dis- 
tricts. Brewer drew my attention to two birds 
soaring quite a distance off; he said they were 
the Everglade kite, and are found nowhere 
else ; he had a standing order to kill some, and 
was anxious to get a shot, but they are difficult 
to approach. They look like a small hen- 
hawk, with rather darker plumage. To collec- 
tors a single egg of this bird is worth ten dol- 
lars. The same price is also paid for a good 
skin. 

There must be thousands of otter in this 
vicinity, for their trails crossed each other in 
all directions, and wherever there was a little 
dry ground their fresh slides of the night before 
could be observed. We had no serious set- 
backs to our travel, but the water was not as 
high in the Glades as I should have liked to 




THE NOONDAY REST 



Across the Everglades 

have seen it. A good rain might have given 
us an extra inch or two, but we did not get 
it. Being obhged to stop every Uttle while to 
get compass-bearings and calculate distances re- 
tarded us very much, but I was determined to 
spend all the time on this work that was neces- 
sary, as any grave error at the start would have 
thrown things badly out at the other end. The 
same care was given throughout the trip to the 
very last mile ; at no time did I allow myself 
to become hurried. A little before noon we 
crossed a fresh Indian canoe trail, less than a 
week old. It led to the north, and we supposed 
that the owner was on his way to join the hunt 
on the Big Cypress. 

I preferred not to sleep in the canoes unless 
absolutely forced to do so, and made it a prac- 
tice after three o'clock not to pass any little 
island without examination for dry ground, 
which was evidently getting rarer as we jour- 
neyed on. At four in the afternoon we passed 
a little bunch of bushes, which I sent Brewer 
in to investigate ; he reported that we might 
clear a piece seven or eight feet long that would 
be dry enough, and, there being nothing in 
sight that looked more promising, we proceeded 
to make camp with brush-hook and axe. 
8 113 



Across the Everglades 

Places were cleared for the two canoes, and after 
unloading them they were placed bottom up. 

The little spot of ground was not large 
enough to spread the tent, so the fly alone was 
used ; sticks were cut for the cheese-cloths and 
the blankets unrolled. No fire could be made 
here, so we started the kettle boiling on the 
kerosene-stove, and in a very short time had 
cocoa, cumpti, and crackers ready. Supper 
over, we enjoyed a good smoke, and I began 
by the light of the lantern to plot my course 
on my chart and work up my reckoning, call- 
ing this camp Station No. 2. I found that 
in a straight line we had covered eight miles 
and a quarter, but the path of the canoe was 
nineteen miles long. This was quite as good 
as I expected to make, in fact, better, as I surely 
thought that the daily rate would be reduced 
to five miles when we got into heavier work. 
Several very good leads were met, in which the 
boats made good progress, and the water was 
in all places clear, even where the grass was 
thick, with a mile and a half current setting to 
the southwest; rocky bottom was found fre- 
quently near the surface, with no mud on it ; 
then again the mud was from two inches to a 
foot thick. 

"4 




OUTLOOK FROM STATION 2 



Across the Everglades 

The popular impression has always been 
that the Everglades is a huge swamp, full of 
malaria and disease germs. There was cer- 
tainly nothing in our surroundings that would 
remind one of a swamp. Around the shores 
of the little islands the mud may be a trifle 
soft, but pure water is running over it, and no 
stagnant pools can be found. In the daytime 
the cool breeze has an undisturbed sweep, and 
the water is protected from overheating by the 
shade the grass affords. Water-plants of va- 
rious kinds and several varieties of fish and 
reptiles keep the balance of life, as in a self- 
sustaining aquarium. As will be seen by the 
analysis, this water is quite wholesome to 
drink. As would naturally be supposed, it is 
rather hard, as much of it comes out of and 
flows over the coralline limestone. : "' - 

I had no hesitation in drinking it whenever 
the canoe stopped, taking two or three glasses 
at a time, when thirsty from the exertion of 
poling. It agreed with Brewer and myself 
perfectly ; we did not know a sick hour from 
this or any other cause. After working for 
about an hour and a half, I undressed and 
crawled into my sleeping-bag, not forgetting 
the very important task of winding my watch 
"5 



Across the Everglades 

and the two chronometers. I expected of 
course to drop off quickly to sleep, as I was 
just comfortably tired by the day's work. But 
I had reckoned without my host. Everything 
had been so desolate and quiet during the day 
that one would naturally think that the still- 
ness of the night would be quite appalling. 
But as the hours advanced new combinations 
of sounds broke on the ear, until it seemed 
that a menagerie had arrived and all the ani- 
mals were exercising their lungs. From whence 
could all these noises come, a few only of which 
I could recognize ? The first to tune up were 
the frogs. These frogs do not have the respect- 
able croak of their Northern brothers, which is 
rather soothing to the nerves than otherwise ; 
they make a noise like a creeky sheave in an 
old block, the pitch of which is in direct ratio 
to the size of the frog. But the worst sound 
to sleep through is the cry of the limpkin. 
When do these birds sleep? or do they ever 
sleep ? We have seen them about all day, and 
they seemed like a quiet, well-behaved bird, but 
their conduct at night is something most dis- 
reputable. I would drop off into a doze, con- 
quering the other sounds, but as soon as a 
limpkin would screech I would be wide awake 

ii6 



Across the Everglades 

at once. The mosquitoes at Station No. 2 had 
been rather bad, possibly because we were not 
yet far enough from the coast, as I expected 
immunity from these pests when we were well 
in the interior. There is no harbor for them 
from the wind but the tall grass, and the water 
is not stagnant for their larvse. 

We turned out early and cooked a simple 
breakfast of coffee, oatmeal, and crawfish. 
Thinking it better to do the cooking for the 
day as much as possible in the morning, I 
boiled a pot of potatoes, of which we had a 
good supply. The oatmeal, with condensed 
milk poured out of the can, was especially 
good, and we felt in fighting trim for the day. 
Loading the canoes with exactly the same ar- 
ticles they contained yesterday, I took a last 
look around the little patch of ground which 
we called camp, lest anything should be for- 
gotten. After deciding on my course and 
spending a short time on my field-book, we 
struck a good water-lead and made very good 
headway at first, but the difficulties of Ever- 
glade travel soon made themselves apparent. 
The good water-leads came to an end, many 
of them heading up in big saw-grass, beyond 

which we could see nothing that could float a 
117 



Across the Everglades 

canoe. Sometimes reaching within a quarter 
of a mile of the little object that my sights 
were taken to, I would be compelled to return 
to my starting-point and make a departure, 
with perhaps little better success than the first 
time. Game was very plentiful ; deer were 
started frequently, but the swinging of the pole 
from a standing position would take them out 
of range, and there would be no chance of 
shooting one. To hunt successfully would 
have required a whole day, and I could not 
make use of an entire deer ; that, indeed, would 
have been the kind of waste that I have so 
much condemned in other hunters. Both 
canoes were loaded as much as I wished them 
to be, and even if the game became very scarce 
I had no fear of starving, having portable food 
with me enough to last two months. 

At the end of a long stretch of low grass a 
beautiful sight presented itself: seven deer were 
feeding in about four inches of water. We had 
the wind of them, and got rather closer than 
usual. The sight of a white man was strange 
to them, and if we had been seated in our 
canoes could no doubt have gone very close to 
them. A little way ahead from here we saw 
some cormorants and blue heron. On ap- 

ii8 



Across the Everglades 

proaching we found quite a large " rookery ;" 
most of the birds were laying, so we took 
quite a supply of cormorant and blue heron 
eggs, with which I intended to make omelets. 
A few Everglade terrapins and a fresh-water 
turtle, about a foot long, were seen to-day ; 
also some of the flat, soft-shell turtle. Both 
these varieties the Seminoles eat ; they usually 
broil them in their shells before the fire. The 
water seemed all to be moving in a southwest- 
erly direction, over a more broken rocky for- 
mation. Sometimes pools would be crossed 
eight or ten feet wide and five feet deep. These 
would look like a pretty aquarium, with its 
growth of water-plants and its picturesque rock 
bottom, through which big-mouthed bass eight 
or ten inches long could be seen swimming. 
Occasionally, in the centre of these pools, a 
dark hole a few inches in diameter could be 
seen ; down one of these I could push my pole 
to a long distance, and the water was coming 
out from it with quite a little head. They 
are to be found all over the Everglades, and 
are, I believe, one of its greatest water-sup- 
plies. 

All this moving water cannot be accounted 

for by the rain alone, and the water is too hard 
119 



Across the Everglades 

for rain-water, so that in all probability more 
comes from below than above. Serpent life 
seems to abound ; many moccasins were passed, 
but we comforted ourselves that we would meet 
few rattlesnakes, as there was certainly not 
enough dry ground for them. There are many 
natives, however, who dread the bite of the 
moccasin quite as much as the rattler, but 
having seen the fearfully quick work of the 
latter on several occasions, all known antidotes 
having been administered in vain, I had occa- 
sion to dread it. We encountered very heavy 
bunches of saw-grass, and the little distance we 
made to the good was rather disheartening. 
Hoping to get more easting on the following 
day, I began looking for a camp. The pros- 
pects were more discouraging than the day 
before. All large islands had disappeared, and 
nothing was left but small detached groups of 
bushes, which gave little encouragement even 
to examine for land. 

So we travelled on till it was nearly night, 
and halted at a little wet island, intending to 
use it as best we could. There was a knob of 
land about two inches out of water and four feet 
in diameter (rather close quarters for two men) ; 
this we helped out by throwing down small 




MAKING CAMP 



Across the Everglades 

branches and, finally, fern-leaves, with the tent- 
fly spread to keep off the dew. After a good 
supper of fried blue heron and cormorant egg 
omelet, I finished my note-book work, and we 
turned in. The camp at Station No. 3 was 
certainly not a very comfortable one, though I 
did not wake once during the night, in spite 
of the racket of frogs, limpkins, etc. I found 
that the best work could be done in the early 
morning, so I made a practice of waking up 
about four o'clock, which gave us good time 
to finish our breakfast and load the canoes, 
usually starting just as the sun was rising. 
That morning proved no exception to our early 
habits, and everything pointed towards making 
a good run, but our expectations were far from 
being realized. Our course seemed completely 
blocked to the northeast, with nothing but 
heavy saw-grass, into which every water-lead 
headed up, and nothing beyond that could be 
travelled through, — our hardest day's work, and 
the most discouraging. This central mass of 
saw-grass no doubt reaches from the south end 
of Okeechobee to our present latitude, which is 
25° 36" N. Mr. Ingraham crossed it at lat. 
26° 10" N. in his almost fatal attempt to travel 
in a straight line, having penetrated it so far 



Across the Everglades 

that the return to Fort Shackelford would be 
as fruitful of danger as to push on to Miami. 

That there is a break somewhere about lat. 
25° 50" known only to the Indians I have little 
doubt, else how could they travel from the edge 
of the Big Cypress to Miami with such rapidity. 
In many places we forced our way through 
where there was a slight indication of lower 
grass beyond, but at a terrible expense of mus- 
cular power, and the grass cut our hands and 
faces severely. The day was very hot, and if 
Everglade water was unwholesome it had a 
good chance on this occasion to make us ill, 
for we never limited ourselves in its use. 

The only way this hard poling affected me 
was in causing great pain between my shoulder- 
blades, which became almost unbearable. Every 
little while I had to change the object taken for 
a bearing, when nearly reaching it. It was get- 
ting late in the afternoon, and nothing had been 
accomplished and no place in sight on which to 
pass the night. Reluctantly we called this a 
lost day, and headed the canoes on the back 
trail to Station No. 3, which, by my reverse 
bearings and the many long stretches already 
broken through, was not very difficult. After 
the fight we had made for nothing and the ex- 




OUTLOOK FROM STATION 3 



Across the Everglades 

hausted condition we were in, Station No. 3, 
that had seemed to us such a miserable place 
and little better than a make-shift, suddenly 
became to our minds the cosiest of camps. We 
cut out more of the bushes, and arranged the 
tent in connection with the fly so that it made 
a huge umbrella, and increased the ground 
space by building up with branches. A few 
small sweet-bay-trees were standing near us. I 
cut off the twigs and leaves to make my bed 
more comfortable than it was the previous 
night. It reminded me of the beds we used to 
make of balsam in the Adirondacks, but the 
smell of the bay is, if anything, more agree- 
able. 

The Indians use the leaves of the sweet-bay 
also for making a tea which they consider very 
wholesome. Brewer suggested that we use the 
inner bark, and, as I had a little extra time for 
cooking, I made a gallon of this tea, which I 
poured into my rubber water-bag, to drink cold 
during the warm work of the day. While I 
was at work. Brewer took his canoe and said 
he would make a run to the north and leave an 
otter-trap a quarter of a mile from us, to be 
picked up the next day. I hoped for his suc- 
cess, for we had had no meat for some time, and, 
123 



Across the Everglades 

having used a beaver for the table on one occa- 
sion in the Maine woods, I thought perhaps the 
flesh of the otter (which is similar in its habits) 
might be as palatable. The character of the 
Glades had changed but little, the horizon being 
sharper and fewer clumps of bushes in sight. 

From the most easterly point reached on this 
day I sighted the edge of Long Key and got 
a bearing to it. The existence of this large 
island at the southern end of the Everglades 
has been guessed at by white men, who have 
seen it from the edge of the pine-timber border- 
ing the Atlantic coast ; but there is no accurate 
knowledge of its dimensions, and many have 
vainly tried to reach it. Brewer on one of his 
hunting expeditions, a few years ago, succeeded 
in making a landing on the south end, and later 
in this expedition I crossed the broken part of 
the north end. Brewer returned at sundown 
and reported that he had found a lead to the 
northwest that gave a prospect of getting out in 
that direction. 

The work of the day had told badly on my 

rubber hip-boots and several cuts had gone 

through ; these I patched up neatly with my 

bicycle repair outfit. The bicycle wheel and 

cyclometer gave most excellent results as a 
124 




FILLING THE CAMP BUCKET 



Across the Everglades 

" log." My sights at noon had been carefully 
worked out and we knew where we were. I 
could put the point down on the chart ; but the 
question I should have best liked answered then 
was, Where we shall be to-morrow night ? 
We had gained nothing all day. We awoke 
next morning having had a most comfortable 
sleep and feeling in good spirits to encounter 
whatever difficulties and trials the day might 
bring forth. 

When the sun just began to peep over the 
horizon it found us in our loaded canoes with 
pole in hand. We followed the trail that 
Brewer had broken out the evening before, and 
made a halt for our otter-trap. Sad to relate, 
though there were fresh signs all around it, 
nothing had been caught. After proceeding a 
mile from Station No. 3, we found a very good 
lead, which, though carrying us rather more to 
the north than we wished to go, we followed. 
It left the worst saw-grass on our right, but by 
getting farther to the northward we hoped to 
discover some breaks in this terrible barrier, 
that seemed to block our northeast course. 
Though we had seen little game of late, we 
started three deer, that went plunging through 
the saw-grass. When I first heard them I 

1 25 



Across the Everglades 

picked up my rifle, thinking that some huge 
animal was about to charge on us, but I soon 
recognized and located the sound, although 
they managed to keep entirely out of sight. 
How with their sharp feet they can get through 
this grass at all is a mystery, and they must cut 
their noses frightfully. These deer may have 
wandered from the western side of the Ever- 
glades, though what they can find to feed upon 
and where they sleep is somewhat of a puzzle. 
About eleven o'clock I sighted an island a 
little to the left of our course, and by a careful 
examination with the glass I could plainly make 
out a cabbage-palm growing from its centre. 
Now, in any other part of Florida the appear- 
ance of a cabbage-palm would excite but little 
interest, as in some places you can see forests 
of many thousands, but here away out in the 
Everglades it told a story that gladdened our 
hearts. It meant dry land. I stopped here to 
take my usual noon sights, and, though we had 
made but four miles, we decided to camp on 
that island. I was sorry that the island could 
not be reached before the sun crossed the meri- 
dian, but did very well without land for my 
artificial horizon, so after all it made little dif- 
ference. 

126 



si 



'*IS.". f 




A MERIDIAN ALTITUDE 



Across the Everglades 

I constructed my support in the usual manner 
by driving three paddles through a few inches 
of mud to the hard rock bottom, and on the 
tripod so formed inverting a box to obtain a 
level surface. This was quite as steady as could 
be desired. On this I placed my black mirror 
and levelled it. After carefully noting the 
vernier reading on the sextant and the time by 
the two chronometers, I set my " hack watch" 
and shaped our course for the island. On a 
nearer approach a dark gap in the trees was 
seen, and through it a large clearing and plenty 
of good high ground. At once we saw that we 
had struck a permanent camp and a very old 
one, too. I jumped ashore at the canoe land- 
ing and found the island deserted ; but the 
many objects of interest around incited me to 
work at once. The island is nearly circular in 
shape, supporting a heavy growth of timber, 
matted together near the ground by thick vines. 
Near the centre, and approached by a cut-out 
trail from the eastward, was a clearing about 
sixty feet in diameter, and like a great tent-pole 
supporting the canopy of foliage overhead 
stands the cabbage-palm, whose top projects a 
few feet above the surrounding trees and had 

attracted my attention from the distance. On 
127 



Across the Everglades 

Its trunk a few feet above the ground was a 
smooth place made with a knife; on this a 
charcoal drawing of a deer's head and body ; 
at one side a double oval somewhat like an 
elongated figure of eight ; beneath and to the 
right was a figure evidently intended for a 
squaw ; on the left was a hand turned down- 
ward. All this is intended to convey some 
information from one Indian to another. I 
could not venture upon an interpretation until 
I should meet some of my Indian friends and 
describe the place, when, finding that I had 
visited it, they might be willing to tell me what 
it signifies. 

A hundred years ago there were two other 
cabbage-palmettos growing on this island, 
which were larger than the central one. I say 
a hundred, though it may be many more years 
than this ; the fallen trunks were so rotten that 
merely a shell remained, and in the position I 
found them a palmetto would keep sound for a 
very long time. These trees had not fallen by 
accident, but were cut down when the clearing 
was made. Over the ground were strewn a 
dozen shells of the Everglade terrapin, some 
probably killed a year ago, others almost re- 
duced to dust, showing great age. It is a cus- 
128 



Across the Everglades 

torn with the Indians to cook this turtle by 
broiling it before the fire without removing it 
from the shell. The flesh is really very good 
and makes quite a savory stew, resembling 
when carefully prepared the smaller terrapin 
that bring such high prices in the Northern 
market. There were many poles scattered 
about that had been used for shelters and frames 
for palmetto " shacks." At one side of the 
clearing was a place where the cooking-fire had 
always been made, and over a large pile of 
ashes were the charred remains of the last pieces 
of wood that were used. 

Now, the Seminole has his own peculiar way 
of making a fire, as with all Indians his aim is 
to do the greatest amount of cooking with the 
least expenditure of wood, prepared with the 
fewest number of cuts. Though the fire is 
small, it requires a circular hearth of about six- 
teen feet in diameter. The wood is cut in six- 
or eight-feet lengths and placed radially like a 
huge cart-wheel, a few light twigs starting the 
fire at the hub. An Indian is constantly mov- 
ing around the rim of this wheel and pushing 
the spokes towards the central point an inch or 
two at a time. A pot is hung from a couple 
of uprights, or a frying-pan is used in the hand. 

9 »29 



Across the Everglades 

The only thing for which I have ever seen 
them use a frying-pan is for parching their 
coffee or the making of a kind of pancake. 

Their great dependence is " sofkee," which is 
made in the pot and helped out with a large 
carved wooden spoon, which is their one ar- 
ticle of table or, rather, pot ware, all eating 
from the same spoon whenever appetite impels 
them. The best description I can give of 
" sofkee" is to say that it is the analogue of the 
Spanish " olla podrida." On the east side of the 
island stands a sweet-bay-tree, with a crooked 
trunk, that seemed to. invite an easy climb, so 
before the light waned I took the telescope and 
without difficulty reached the topmost branch. 
Looking carefully at the limbs on which I 
stood, I found that I had not been the first 
to climb that tree by many. This must have 
been a favorite place during the Seminole War 
to keep a lookout constantly posted, to ascer- 
tain if any troops had succeeded in passing the 
natural barriers nature had given to them for 
protection. 

My elevation gave me a marvellous view in 
every direction, and, by using a powerful alu- 
minum glass, I could distinctly make out the 

line of timber on the east edge of the Glades, 
130 




ON WILLUUGIUJV KEY 



Across the Everglades 

and towards the west the timber-Hne of the Big 
Cypress. The distance to each seemed to be 
about the same. We were in almost the exact 
centre of the Everglades east and west. No 
wonder this has been a favorite camping-place 
of the Seminole, and how many anxious war- 
riors must have climbed this tree and watched 
from this very perch for long hours during the 
war, and with what joy they greeted the news 
from the North that no further attempt would 
be made to conquer them, a verbal agreement 
having been entered upon that so long as they 
let the white settlers alone no further steps 
would be taken against them. The vicinity 
of this spot had been one of my objective- 
points, as it was near the centre of an unknown 
area, bounded on the north by the two pre- 
vious lines of exploration, and much to the 
south of the line made by scouting parties of 
troops. I felt for once in my life that I had 
reached ground never before touched by a white 
man, and in my enthusiasm took my little New 
York Yacht Club flag from my pocket and 
Brewer christened the island Willoughby Key. 
After remaining for some time in the tree- 
top, I joined Brewer on the ground and com- 
municated to him the result of my observa- 
131 



Across the Everglades 

tions. What most interested him was the 
finding of good water-leads to the eastward; 
but on this point I could give him little en- 
couragement. It is rather a strange thing that 
from a great elevation you are much disap- 
pointed at the amount of water seen ; in fact, 
you see no water at all, nothing but grass, and 
as for doing advance piloting, you might just 
as well be standing in your canoe. I made up 
my mind that in the future, if opportunity pre- 
sented, to climb no more trees with this pur- 
pose in view. This is the first camp in which 
we were really comfortable. The tent was 
pitched to its full proportions, with the fly 
extending over the front. 

On the remains of the Indian fire we built 
up a most cheerful blaze, as there was an abun- 
dance of dry wood about, and in a very short 
time I notified Brewer that supper was ready. 
Our supper on this occasion was very much as 
usual, but the hot embers enabled me to broil 
a limpkin, which gave a pleasant change from 
the frying-pan. The camp was so picturesque 
that before sunset I made an attempt to get 
a picture "\i^ith the camera, but the light was so 
weak that I feared poor results, the clearing 

being obscured by heavy foliage. This has 
132 



Across the Everglades 

been my difficulty with nearly all the choicest 
bits worth preserving. During the run of the 
day Brewer was so unfortunate as to break a 
pole, which had jammed in a crevice in the 
rock, and he would have been in a very bad 
fix to replace it had I not insisted at starting 
upon carrying an extra one. The shelter-poles 
the Indians have left here were all too crooked 
for the purpose of poling. 



133 



CHAPTER VI 

Baffled by Saw-Grass — Return to Willoughby Key — A 
Fresh Start — A Dead Snake by Moonlight — Mos- 
quitoes — Supplies Running Low — The Palmetto as 
Food. 



BS 



E made our usual morning start after 
breakfast. My object was to take 
bearings that would lead me to the 
east and find, by zigzagging the leads, a route 
to get through this impenetrable barrier of saw- 
grass. This day was one of our hardest, and 
yet we made the least number of miles, only 
gaining two miles and a half to the eastward. 
Fifty times or more, leads that seemed good 
headed up in saw-grass that was nine or ten 
feet high, with hardly any water at its roots. I 
was tempted to strike a due east course, but the 
rate of travel would immediately be reduced to 
a mile a day, and should the strip prove to be 
fifteen miles across, the chances of starvation 
would be great. 

This part of the Everglades seems to be de- 
void of animal and bird life ; a few small black 
bass are occasionally seen near deeper holes in 
134 




A GOOD CAMPING ISLAND 



Across the Everglades 

the rock bottom, but we would have had to 
devote the greater part of the day to catching 
them. We had about three pounds of bacon 
left, and, as it was important in frying, also to 
use as butter, if that gave out, we would feel its 
loss greatly. Our last pieces of ham and cheese 
had been consumed, but we still had a few 
pounds of dry crawfish and some potatoes in 
the bag. I had no fear of the groceries and 
portable food giving out. We had not used 
half of it yet, and the supply of cocoa was not 
one-third exhausted. The poling was most 
trying on my shoulders, and at times the pain 
would be so great that I would be afraid to sit 
down in the canoe, lest I should get so stiff 
that I could not continue before a proper day's 
work had been accomplished. Probably the 
mental annoyance had much to do with my 
fatigue. Even Brewer, accustomed as he was 
to this arduous poling, acknowledged, for the 
first time, that he was completely "played 
out." 

Still we fought on, and about five o'clock in 
the afternoon a small clump of bushes was 
reached, and we made camp at Station No. 5 
as best we could. After clearing out these 
bushes there was barely room to stretch our 
135 



Across the Everglades 

cheese-cloths ; the ground was very soft and 
wet, a great contrast to the dry island we were 
on the night before. The kerosene-stove was a 
great comfort here, as I soon had a good hot 
supper ready, and, though I felt sore all over, I 
managed to do my usual plotting and navi- 
gating before I put the lantern out to retire 
to my uncomfortable couch, which was but 
an inch above the water ; but for the rubber 
blankets we would have been thoroughly wet 
through before morning; as it was, only the 
lower end of my sleeping-bag was slightly 
damp. 

I have not said very much about snakes, but 
it must not be supposed that these agreeable 
creatures were absent ; the very places we se- 
lected for camps were usually the ones appre- 
ciated by their snakeships, and the first careful 
work we usually did was to clear them out 
before trusting our legs too recklessly in dark 
corners. There are many varieties that live in 
the Everglades, and their numbers have cer- 
tainly not been exaggerated by other explorers. 
Our start on the following day was not quite 
as early as usual, as Brewer and I were some- 
what muscle-sore by our unusually tiresome 
work of the day before. We managed to get 
136 




IN THE BIG SAW-GRASS 



Across the Everglades 

under way an hour after sunrise, but before 
poling very far in the cool air we felt that we 
were equal to the day's possible trials and vex- 
ations. We first started to the east, and could 
make no headway at all, the saw-grass in this 
direction being even heavier than we had yet 
seen it, and not an opening could be discov- 
ered. We abandoned an easterly course after 
several hours, but what made things more 
serious was that our further progress to the 
north was also blocked. From this point I 
could see an Indian ring-fire due north about 
forty miles distant, well up towards Okeechobee, 
probably made by some of the Micasukees. 
To the west was a similar ring-fire on the edge 
of the Big Cypress Swamp. The latter I could 
easily account for as being about the position 
where my friends Robert Osceola, Little Tiger, 
Johnnie Billie, and Dr. Jimmie were having 
their big otter-hunt. To the eastward I could 
see a column of smoke that was not of Indian 
origin. It was in the exact bearing that the 
Miami River should be, and, after making a 
careful examination through the glass, both 
Brewer and myself decided that it came from 
the mill or a steamboat at the mouth of the 
river. 

137 



Across the Everglades 

Miami seemed so near, and yet, as the se- 
quence proved, how many miles we were des- 
tined to travel before reaching it ! It seemed 
hard, after making so much easting, that we 
could not get by that terrible strip of grass, 
into which I did not dare venture, and to pene- 
trate even but a short distance might take 
weeks of most trying labor and, what was 
worse, exhaust our supply of provisions. I 
weighed the matter very carefully, and deter- 
mined that the longest way round was the 
shortest way through. The character of the 
Everglades at this point was similar to what it 
had been for the past two days. The water was 
still clear and running at the rate of from half a 
mile to a mile an hour in a southwesterly di- 
rection, at times showing a symptom of mov- 
ing southerly even a little east of south. This 
showed me clearly that we were very near the 
dividing water-shed which runs down the centre 
of the State and has its terminus in the heart 
of the Everglades. The rock is everywhere 
found, usually smooth, in very many places with 
no mud on top of it. Where it underlies the 
big saw-grass it is occasionally seven or eight 
feet under. But the coralline limestone can al- 
ways be depended on as not being very far off. 
138 



Across the Everglades 

Crevices in the rock were still passed, but I 
could not stop to ascertain about how much 
water was coming directly from this source. 
Before making camp for the night I had come 
to the conclusion that there was but one safe 
course opened to us, and that was to travel on 
our back trail till the first opening to the east- 
ward presented itself, and then make our north- 
ing good again, coming up on the eastern edge 
of the long tongue of saw-grass. There was a 
ray of comfort in our disappointments, and that 
was that I had reached a central point upon 
which before starting I had put my pencil and 
said to Brewer, " That is the locality that I am 
most anxious to reach, for many people suppose 
large islands may there be found ;" and as not to 
find them proved one of my theories, I was less 
annoyed at the partial retracing of our steps. 

The canoes were beginning to show the 
effects of the terrible rubbing and scraping to 
which they had been subjected. The paint and 
varnish were nearly all worn off the bottoms, 
and they would not run much farther without 
another coat, but a whole day could not be 
spared for this work. Our camp was much the 
counterpart of the one of last night, if anything 
the patch of ground was smaller and had to be 
139 



Across the Everglades 

pieced out with sticks and leaves. Nothing but 
the fly of the tent could be used as a shelter. 

As Station No. 6 was a very important one, 
I took more time than usual to work out my 
sights at noon, and was much pleased to find 
that my various ways of obtaining distance cor- 
responded closely, and I felt that the plotting on 
my chart was so far accurate. The almost per- 
petual sunshine was varied to-day by many 
clouds, and I was greatly in hopes that during 
the night we would get a good rain. I could 
see by the water-line on the grass that it was 
lowering at the rate of a quarter of an inch a 
day, which gave me uneasiness. The work was 
certainly hard enough as it was, but with less 
water and the dry season coming on, the future 
looked dark enough. Nothing could be killed 
to add to our provisions, our last piece of bacon 
had disappeared, and but one dried crawfish re- 
mained. We had seen two Everglade terrapin 
during the day, but were not able to capture 
them. Only an occasional fish was seen, and 
small ones at that, hardly large enough to war- 
rant the expenditure of many hours in their 
capture. 

Making an early start from Station No. 6, we 

poled south, and by my reverse bearings, and 
140 



Across the Everglades 

the fresh trail to help us, we made rapid prog- 
ress. Before the sun had crossed the meridian 
we were at Station No. 5, a day's work com- 
pleted in half a day. This was made possible 
by having so {tw detours and the boats slipping 
with greater ease through the old trail. The 
usual noonday halt of an hour was made for 
dinner and rest, after which we continued on the 
back trail, watching the country continually to 
the eastward to discover any gaps that offered suf- 
ficient inducements to penetrate for any distance ; 
but, as on our outward journey, there seemed to 
be no possibility of getting to the eastward. 

On the bottom, near a smooth rocky surface, 
I saw what I took to be a dead fish, which I 
stopped and picked up, and, much to my sur- 
prise, found it to be something that looked like 
a fish with a tail at each end. On a closer 
examination it proved to be two large-mouthed 
black bass, each ten inches in length. One had 
attempted to swallow the other, resulting in the 
death of both. This singular duel could not 
have occurred many hours before, as the flesh 
was quite fresh, though the doubt as to the 
time that had elapsed since their death forbade 
our using them in the frying-pan. The food 

for fish must be scarce in this section when 
141 



Across the Everglades 

small fish of this size have taken to eating up 
each other. Early in the afternoon we sighted 
Willoughby Key, and made directly for it. 
After the uncomfortable camps we had made 
recently, it was like getting home. 

My attention was at once arrested by the 
appearance of the old camp-fire. The ashes 
and charred wood were scattered in every direc- 
tion. Surely some one had been there since we 
left the spot. Who could it have been ? On 
closer examination. Brewer and myself decided 
that nothing could have left this sign but otter ; 
there seemed to have been six or eight of them, 
and the dry ashes had apparently offered a means 
of getting rid of the insects on them, or of dry- 
ing their fur. They had evidently run up to 
the fireplace, then gone to the nearest tree- 
trunk, rubbed and rolled, repeating the process 
several times. A little to one side of the cab- 
bage-palm were the freshly scattered feathers of 
a large bird, the body of which had been eaten, 
leaving but few bones. This did not look like 
the work of otter, and after examining the soft 
mould we found the fresh track of a panther. 
We thought perhaps his catship might return 
again, finding no other dry place on which to 

sleep if still in the vicinity ; but he probably 

142 



Across the Everglades 

smelled our fire, and we got no chance for a 
shot. 

Still a little time remained before sunset, 
which we devoted to making camp and taking 
an observation from the Indian watch-tower in 
the tree-top. The tent was fully set up on a 
smooth piece of ground, with the fly extended 
to the front nearly to the fire, and plenty of 
wood was cut and a good blaze started. A 
large kettle of sweet-bay tea was prepared to 
drink cold when travelling. While unloading 
the canoes, standing in the water with my hip- 
boots on, my working compass dropped from 
its lanyard and settled in the soft mud. I did 
not dare to move, but, stooping gently, I began 
groping around in the direction it had disap- 
peared, and by great good luck soon recovered 
it. Being nearly water-tight, it was soon put in 
order. We would have felt the loss of this 
compass very much, as it was so convenient for 
the short bearings, being a most accurate instru- 
ment and an old companion on land and sea for 
twenty years, the larger asimuth compass taking 
more time to manipulate. Our camp that night 
was by far the most comfortable of any we had 
made, and looked more like a permanent one 
than if intended for " one night only." 

H3 



Across the Everglades 

As my navigation and chart work was some- 
what simpUfied on returning to a known station, 
I was enabled to retire much earlier than usual, 
dropping off into such a deep sleep that Brewer 
could hardly wake me up at our usual hour for 
turning out. Nothing short of a rattlesnake 
crawling over my legs and sounding his castanets, 
could have disturbed me. The extra room for 
moving about this camp and the comparatively 
soft beds we had used made us feel quite strong 
and fresh for the continuance of our journey. 

When breakfast was over and everything 
packed, we branched off from our old trail and 
kept a more southerly course, the trend of the 
water enabling us to do this, and the slight cur- 
rent was in our favor. A northerly wind was 
also blowing, which made poling much easier 
than usual, except when the leads headed up 
and we would have to back out of them. Many 
times during the day we tried to gain more east- 
ing, but without success. Should we have to 
go clear to the sea before getting around the 
south end of that terrible saw-grass? I was 
aware that on the west the Shark River was the 
last place by which the coast could be reached 
by a human being with a canoe, and on the 

east things were nearly as bad, the first stream 
144 




A GOOD WATER-I^EAD 



Across the Everglades 

emerging from that side being the Miami River. 
The feeUng that we were boxed up in this man- 
ner was not a very pleasant one ; but we declared 
that, as we had set out to make Miami through 
the Everglades, no obstacle should be permitted 
to baffle us in our undertaking. 

Progress might at times be slow, but with 
the exception of the one day we were obliged 
to go nearly in a circle, returning to our start- 
ing-point, we had always made at least three 
miles for the day's work, and, as we had plenty 
of groceries left, the fear of starving did not 
trouble us very much, though we felt the 
need of fresh meat. The diet of a vegetarian 
never seemed to me suitable for hard work. I 
never felt better in my life, but was conscious 
of losing somewhat in flesh. We were making 
rapid progress, but unless we were able to make 
at least ten miles of our surround-work, we felt 
it would almost be better to tackle the big saw- 
grass at the rate of half a mile a day. 

I got a shot at a limpkin, which I missed, 
probably, in my anxiety not to let him escape, 
requiring too much from the range of the gun. 
So our dinner took unto itself wings, and we 
were not even able to catch a turtle. The 
game, however, promises to become plentiful. 

10 1 45 



Across the Everglades 

It was past our usual time for camping be- 
fore we sighted an island that gave any promise 
of a dry spot. On starting in to cut out 
bushes, I found that several deer had been 
there the night before. On a little circle about 
six feet in diameter a buck and two does had 
made a snug little nest. The ferns had been 
pressed down smoothly by their bodies, show- 
ing plainly the outlines of their forms. As 
compared with islands upon which we have 
camped, this little spot, elevated but a few 
inches above the water, seemed perfection, 
though there was hardly enough room to set 
the tent in its full shape. The deer had evi- 
dently made a comfortable night here, and we 
hoped to be as fortunate. 

The next day was Sunday, the 1 7th of Jan- 
uary, and as we had been travelling so contin- 
uously (last Sunday there being no place to 
stop), we were beginning to feel the need of a 
day of rest and an opportunity to dry and re- 
pair the bottoms of the canoes. My surveying 
work had been rather easier, as, looking to- 
wards the south, I could get objects of more 
distinct shape, but when once decided on an 
object and figured up to it, I had never mis- 
taken it, as both Brewer and I kept it con- 
146 




STATION 8 



Across the Everglades 

stantly before our eyes, and the indentations on 
the horizon were not many. If we never got 
a worse camp than that at Station No. 8, that 
the deer had chosen for us, we would have 
great reason to be thankful. 

What a delightful feeling of rest it was, after 
getting awake at four o'clock the next morn- 
ing, to drop off to sleep again and know noth- 
ing till the sun was quite high in the sky, and 
then lie still for another hour, until the feeling 
of hunger reminded us that a hot bowl of oat- 
meal and a cup of as good coffee as could be 
procured at Delmonico's would be just the 
" lacking ingredient" at this time I There was 
still no sign of rain. The water was getting 
each day lower ; our big detours had made it 
necessary to consume more time and provisions 
than we had expected. We had started for 
the Miami, and to the Miami we were bound 
to go, at the same time taking up our explora- 
tions as near east to Station No. 6 as the width 
of that terrible strip of saw-grass would per- 
mit. We had been baffled, but not conquered. 
The superb pluck of Brewer always dissipated 
any latent misgivings in my own mind as to 
the ultimate result of our undertaking. Our 
health was good, no accident had occurred, and 
147 



Across the Everglades 

I could foresee none, with our system and care, 
unless one of us should be so unfortunate as to 
be bitten by the snakes that so abounded. 

After making a few courses to the south- 
ward, we at last found signs that we had 
reached the south end of the line of big saw- 
grass. The rock was more frequently near the 
surface, and could not support the heavier 
growth, but as one obstacle grew less another 
became greater. The water was lower and bore 
the canoes with great difficulty. The progress, 
too, was very slow, and much wading had to 
be done, easing the canoes over bad places as 
much as possible. Take it altogether, this more 
open travel was to be preferred, though more 
trying to the legs, than the hard pushing 
through the high, cutting grass. Occasionally 
a good water-lead would help us on our way, 
and we were at last headed to the northeast. 

But with all our work the amount of easting 
did not exceed a mile and a half, as it had only 
been on the last two courses that we made any- 
thing in that direction. That afternoon I killed 
a blue heron and a limpkin, which was an ac- 
quisition to our larder, especially as the limpkin 
was young and tender. There seemed to be 

the same difficulty that we had met all along 

148 







SLOW TRAVELLING 



Across the Everglades 

in selecting a good place for a camp and to 
establish Station No. 9. But at last a little 
island hove in sight with large enough bushes 
on it to invite an investigation. Brewer waded 
ashore and said he thought it might do, and as 
it was getting late we made camp. 

The island was surrounded with saw-grass, and 
we made a trail to it by running a canoe through 
several times, which required much extra exer- 
tion. With axe and brush-hook we soon had 
it cleared, and found about the usual amount 
of wet ground, — some twenty square yards. It 
was hard on these small patches to find a place 
where the canoes could be turned bottom up to 
dry and examine. I have adopted a method of 
throwing them on top of the saw-grass, which is 
so strong that it keeps them a couple of feet out 
of the water. Unloading the canoes after the 
arduous work of the day on the places we were 
forced to camp seemed like a waste of strength, 
and was much like wasted work. In my conceit 
as an old camper I had made an error in selecting 
my canoes for this journey. I expected always 
to find dry islands ; such were conspicuous by 
their absence. The Seminole when travelling 
always sleeps in his boat, but not until many 

nights spent on wet ground did I realize why 

149 



Across the Everglades 

this was necessary. The canoe which I pro- 
posed to use for my intended hunting-trip the 
next winter would be seventeen feet long and 
twenty-eight inches beam, weighing about one 
hundred pounds, built of cedar, with heavy bilge 
keels ; otherwise, the Canadian model. 

I have not tried steel canoes, but as it would 
insure a tight boat and would drag well, it 
might be a good material with which to build. 
A repair like a puncture could be made with 
solder. The dimensions given above would in- 
sure easy poling, and at night the load could be 
placed in each end, giving plenty of space to 
sleep. A canoe shelter, with cheese-cloth inside, 
similar to those used on the old Shadow canoe, 
or the Indian method of driving four stakes 
outside of the boat to support the cheese-cloth, 
would afford greater comfort. After starting 
supper on the kerosene-stove and sitting down 
on one of the camp-chests, I happened to look 
down towards the canoes through the little 
tunnel of foliage we had made, and on a limb, 
within two feet of where our heads had passed 
many times in our trips with the canoe loads, 
was a five-foot snake. He had been watching 
us all this time, and kept his wicked little eyes 
on our every movement. 
ISO 




OUTLOOK FROM STATION 9 



Across the Everglades 

I now took my turn at watching him for a 
time, to see if he would move when he found 
himself observed. But no ; he had evidently- 
made his camp also for the night, with no in- 
tention whatever of allowing any one to disturb 
him. So I picked up the shot-gun and gave 
him a load of small shot in order not to spoil 
his skin. He dropped from the limb, but was 
caught in a crotch and wedged near his tail, so 
that he hung down nearly his full length, with 
blood running from where the shot had gone 
into his backbone, as dead as snakes usually are 
inside of twelve hours. 

We continued our supper, giving no further 
thought to the reptile, as snakes had by this 
time become a familiar sight. After finishing 
my evening task on my map and notes, and 
the important operation of winding my chro- 
nometers, I disappeared under my cheese-cloth, 
but somehow could not go to sleep as usual. 
Looking out towards the open Glades, I saw, 
silhouetted against the bright moonlight, that 
miserable snake, which I had forgotten all 
about, his body assuming those easy curves 
that snakes only can make. I rolled over on 
my other side, but my eyes kept getting back 
to that snake, and I soon found that sleep 
151 



Across the Everglades 

would be impossible so long as it hung there. 
Brewer was snoring in such bliss that I had not 
the heart to disturb him, so I turned out and 
with the help of a short stick pulled the reptile 
from the branch. 

The mosquitoes, that had not been trouble- 
some in most of our camps, were abundant 
here, and I dreaded lest some of them would 
follow me under the net, and they did. But 
after that ghastly picture had been destroyed, I 
had no trouble in going to sleep in spite of 
them. The day had been most fatiguing, the 
water being so low and the rock getting rougher. 
Just before reaching Station No. 9 we had 
sighted Long Key, but we were too far to the 
north to see anything of the royal palm-trees. 

On the 19th of January we were under way 
at seven o'clock, and the weather being cooler 
made us feel like putting a good stretch of 
country behind us. We had not proceeded far 
before Brewer broke the foot of his only pole. 
As the bottom was all rock here, the accident 
would not cause any delay, so I tossed him a 
spare foot which I carried in my canoe, telling 
him to put it on in camp that evening. The 
islands were becoming more frequent, and on 
many of them there were, no doubt, patches 
152 




SHOAL WATER OVER ROCKY BOTTOM 



Across the Everglades 

of ground, but we pushed on as long as we 
could see islands ahead that seemed dry. For 
the first time since leaving Willoughby Key 
we saw a cabbage-palm, which was a very en- 
couraging sight, as it meant more dry ground. 
Our noonday meal was rather an unsatisfactory 
one of cold boiled potatoes. Our biscuit had 
given out, and I had to try my hand at bread- 
making over the stove during the evening. A 
few better leads were met with the next day, 
but the water was provokingly shoal, more rock 
showing itself, over which the grass grew thinly. 
Long Key lay to the east ; the timber on it 
could be seen occasionally. A very interesting 
landmark for which I had been steering was a 
tall pine-tree on a small island. I say interest- 
ing, for it was such an uncommon sight to us, 
and meant not only dry land, but very dry land. 
This tree had been in sight since the day before, 
and that aftemoon we were leaving it well astern. 
Our distance on that day was eight and a half 
miles, though the log showed nearly fifteen, but 
in the Everglades this must be regarded as a 
pretty straight course. 

The islands were getting closer together, and 
by three o'clock we made camp on one which 
seemed especially adapted to our purposes. The 
153 



Across the Everglades 

water ran close up to it, and from its centre 
grew two cabbage-palms. After the usual clear- 
ing was made I cut down one of the cabbage- 
palms and extracted the cabbage, to form a 
relish for our evening meal. Very few people, 
even in Florida, know how delicious the cab- 
bage from the palm can be made. The simplest 
way is to cut it up raw and use it as cold-slaw ; 
it is tender and has a slight nutty flavor. Boiled 
as ordinary cabbage, it is excellent. In addition 
to cabbage, this variety of palm bears a black 
berry about the size of a pea, which resembles 
a little in flavor the Chinese litchi nut, but the 
seed is so large in proportion to the nut that 
many have to be gathered to get much out of 
them. The heart of the scrub-palmetto can 
also be used as is the cabbage-palm, but many 
have to be cut and prepared to afford a dish. 
This camp was by far the best we had made 
since the one on Willoughby Key, the ground 
being dry and the water coming well up to the 
shore, making a short carry for the canoe loads. 
To the east many islands can be seen, and a 
line of timber, which is on the west edge of 
Long Key. Station No. lo was established, 
and the camp was a most satisfactory one. 



154 




TWO INCHES OF WATER OVER ROCK 



CHAPTER VII 

Canoeing over Two Inches of Water — Nearing the End- 
Welcome to Civilization — Analysis of Water — Seminole 
Vocabulary. 



n 



HE following day we attempted to run 
on a northeast course, but the water 
was so low that after many fruitless 
efforts we decided that we must get more to 
the eastward, and then followed one of the 
most exhausting and trying days experienced 
yet, in which we were out of our canoes nearly 
all the time ; poling was impossible, and drag- 
ging for hours became a necessity. It seemed 
the choice of evils between the big saw-grass 
country or the section we were then in. Plenty 
of small high islands surrounded us, and the 
water about them was so shoal that a loaded 
canoe could not be floated. The bare rock 
was everywhere visible, with hardly any grass. 
This rock had entirely lost its smooth charac- 
ter, and was very rough, little peaks sticking 
out of the water like stalagmites in a cave, and, 
though of soft coralline limestone, had very 
155 



Across the Everglades 

sharp edges and corners, which cut the bottoms 
of the canoes in a terrible way, so that both 
boats were leaking badly. Things became 
serious, the best method to advance more puz- 
zling. Poling was impossible, and portages 
could not be made, no wading, with a load 
on the back, could be thought of, as there were 
thousands of deep holes among the rocks, in 
which the legs would jam, with imminent dan- 
ger of fracture. 

It was not safe to leave the bow or stern 
of the boats, dependent as we were on their 
friendly support. Every now and then the 
canoes would get wedged in the rocks, taking 
several minutes to extricate them. The ad- 
vance could be counted by inches, as the halts 
had to be made every few hundred feet in order 
to bail the canoes. The sun was hot and the 
wind light, so that the perspiration trickled 
in a stream down our backs, and the amount 
of water we drank was something surprising. 
Surely this Everglade water must be a whole- 
some beverage, for we gave it a thorough trial 
that day. All these islands are really the 
broken part of Long Key ; they become fewer 
and fewer to the north, extending in all about 
three miles. Towards the south the islands 
156 



Across the Everglades 

become thicker and larger till they reach Long 
Key proper. This was evidently the termina- 
tion of the ridge of rough rocks that forms the 
high land of the key itself, and if we could 
only get three miles to the eastward we would 
reach better water for the canoes. 

We were very tired towards evening. The 
work of the day had brought into play a some- 
what different set of muscles. The difficult 
wading, the lifting of the feet out of holes in 
the rock, the pulling, dragging, and the extra 
care necessary to avoid tearing the loaded 
canoes to pieces exhausted us terribly. Brewer 
felt this day's work more than I, and he de- 
clared he would rather pole a canoe over dry 
ground. It was important that we should gain 
more distance to the eastward, for I had every 
reason to believe that this dividing ridge could 
not extend many miles, crossing it as we were 
at right angles. Amid our troubles and vexa- 
tions we were certain of a good dry camp for 
the night. 

The islands, though small, were high, many 
of them having several cabbage-palms upon 
them, and so close together that very short 
compass-bearings could alone be taken. At six 
o'clock we selected an island and prepared to 
157 



Across the Everglades 

camp. Before doing anything else I repaired 
the bottom of both canoes with canvas and 
varnish. 

Many cuts were through, the holes causing 
serious leaks during the day, but I had no 
doubt that I could make them quite tight 
again. The shape of the island on which we 
were camped was circular, rising to about four 
feet in the centre, at which point grew a tall 
pine. With the exception of a high island to 
the east, this was the only one on which pine- 
wood was growing. We found that even a 
high island might have its inconveniences, as 
the land at Station No. 1 1 was so sloping that 
in the middle of the night we nearly slid into 
the water. Continuing an easterly route the 
next day, we encountered much the same ob- 
stacles in the way of rough rock near the sur- 
face. At last we cleared the ridge, and the 
face of the rock began to get smoother, and 
more of the round grass and deeper water could 
be seen ahead. 

Brewer thought that we would not have 

many more miles to travel before reaching a 

district that he had hunted over when going in 

from the east coast. He had followed down the 

pine-timber of the main land at a sufficient dis- 
158 




OUTLOOK KKOM STATION 12 



Across the Everglades 

tance from it to find it insured deep enough water 
for the canoes. Finding better leads, we were 
now able to take the much-desired northeasterly- 
direction, and about noon we sighted a small, 
high island that on approaching Brewer recog- 
nized as the one on which he had camped the 
previous year. He had made a small clearing, 
and there was plenty of dry wood. This was 
the first evidence of the previous presence of a 
white man that we had met since leaving the 
west coast, and we felt almost as if the diffi- 
culties of our journey were at an end ; but I 
wished to get well to the northward before 
striking east to Miami, and by so doing get as 
near Station No. 6 as possible, in order that 
nothing of importance would escape that might 
lie between this line and the above-mentioned 
station. 

This gave us many miles of travel yet, but 
we hoped that better water would make poling 
easier. At this old camp of Brewer's I estab- 
lished Station No. 1 2, and as game was abun- 
dant in this vicinity I hoped to return to it 
another winter for the purposes of hunting. 
The canoes needed attention again, as they had 
been leaking badly during the day. Many 
deer and birds were seen between Stations Nos. 
.159 



Across the Everglades 

fi and 12. A large buck stood so long that 

Brewer tried to shoot at him, but, not being 

accustomed to my heavy-calibre rifle, the ball 

failed to hit, to my regret, as our larder was in 

a condition that justified the killing. Clouds 

had been gathering all day, but the rain that 

we so desired never came. 

It was then the 2 2d of January, and, unless 

the usual order of things failed, we had no 

right to expect showers before March. The 

water was certainly getting lower every day, 

but with our northward course we should find 

better channels. From Station No. 12 the 

travel became more rapid ; we had left the 

thickly clustered islands, and the horizon to 

the north and east was assuming the same 

lonely, desolate appearance that it had in the 

central portions. To the east, however, the 

faint line of pine on the main land could be 

seen. At noon we reached an Indian camp 

that had been deserted for some time. Near 

the landing the skeletons of twelve alligators 

and two otters had been left after skinning. 

The heads of the alligators were badly knocked 

to pieces, the teeth having been removed from 

the jaws. 

Old canoe-trails were leading from this camp 
160 




LOOKING FOR LAND 



Across the Everglades 

in many directions, and, selecting one that led 
towards the northeast, we made rapid progress. 
After almost despairing of finding a camp for 
the night, we were compelled to make use of 
the first clump of bushes in sight after four 
o'clock. Brewer was busy with the bush- 
hook levelling the small piece of wet ground, 
when he suddenly gave a cry of alarm. I 
jumped out of the canoe to ascertain the 
trouble, and found that a large moccasin had 
struck at his legs at close quarters, but had 
missed him. A narrow escape for which we 
were truly most thankful. 

The run for the day had been eleven and 
one-quarter miles, and the course of the canoes 
was very much more direct than usual. If as 
long a run could be made on the following day, 
the head of the Miami River should be in sight. 
The canoes again needed repair, Brewer's be- 
ing in the worst condition. Looking to the 
westward from Station No. 13, I could see the 
heavy saw-grass that we had been unable to 
cross from Station No. 6, and by my map I 
found that it was seven miles wide. Fifty-five 
miles around to save those seven miles of big 
saw-grass, and I did not in the least regret the 

caution that had dictated this long detour. The 
II 161 



Across the Everglades 

canoes had, of course, travelled much farther, 
as the above distance was measured on the 
compass courses. I was reconciled to the en- 
forced lengthening of my line of survey, as this 
huge zigzag had thrown light on a section that 
would probably have remained in the dark for 
some time to come. 

After a good night's rest we continued our 
journey, being enabled by the straighter and 
deeper water-leads to make a better course for 
the Miami River. Near the middle of the day 
the country began to look very familiar, and I 
saw in the distance an island that, from a pecu- 
liar-shaped tree that grew on it, I knew at once 
as being the camp of Miami Jimmie and the 
Tiger family that I had visited the previous 
year. At one o'clock we arrived at the camp, 
but a disappointment awaited me. Hardly a 
sign to remind me of the old place remained. 
A white man had taken possession of the island, 
driving the Indians away, destroying their pal- 
metto shacks, and giving them to understand 
that the land belonged to the white man. 

On the ruins of the picturesque Indian vil- 
lage, that we had so much admired the year 
before, was built an unsightly wooden shanty, 

and the quadrangle around which the palmetto 
162 




EASTERN EDGE OF THE EVERGLADES 



Across the Everglades 

shacks had stood was occupied by a rude vege- 
table garden. 

The happy little faces we remembered, the 
squaws busying themselves with their house- 
hold cares, the stalwart braves returning laden 
from the chase, the air of quiet contentment 
which pervaded the scene, had vanished to 
return never again. Poor Miami Jimmie so 
loved the Miami River that he could not tear 
himself away from its vicinity, and had taken 
up his abode on a little island five miles dis- 
tant; the rest had gone to the Big Cypress. 
This white man had taken advantage of the 
unwillingness of the Seminole to provoke hos- 
tilities. The Indians had gone without a 
murmur, but through no spirit of cowardice ; 
the blood that fills their veins to-day is as brave 
as any spilled in the Seminole War, and their 
courage is as high now as then, but loyalty to 
their pledge makes them submit to many an 
outrage. Some day I hope to interest myself 
in their behalf when an opportunity presents 
itself 

The island was deserted at the time we ar- 
rived, but we met the white settler's man 
making his way back to the island from Miami 
in a flat skiff. I was so long without seeing 
X63 



Across the Everglades 

the face of a human being other than Brewer's 
that I thought it would be pleasant to meet 
some one. I would have liked to make inqui- 
ries in regard to the state of affairs in Cuba, but 
to the hireling of so mean a "land-grabber" 
my heart did not go out. We were then 
moving along at a rapid rate, there being a 
well-cut trail leading from the island in a north- 
easterly direction. 

We soon saw ahead the well-known gap in 
the cypress-trees on the edge of the Glades at 
which the Miami River takes its rise. We felt 
that we were really nearing home. Entering 
the Miami where it was but a few feet wide, we 
were hurried rapidly along, and as it was getting 
late and we were very tired, having covered 
fifteen miles, we thought it best to camp a 
short distance down the river at a place that 
has been used by the Seminoles for many 
years. The sight of the cypress- and pine-trees 
was very restful to our eyes, that had grown 
accustomed to looking at nothing higher than 
the horizon. 

Near our camp was a pretty spring of clear 
water that rushed from the side of the hill. 
There was plenty of room in the little clearing 

to pitch the tent once more to its full propor- 

164 




THE RAFIDS OF THE MIAMI RIVER 



Across the Everglades 

tions and for making a few repairs on the 
canoes. Here we met some negroes, from 
whom we obtained fish, which helped out our 
meagre fare. We also met a sportsman who 
had been fishing on the upper river. We plied 
him with so many questions that he must have 
thought we had just landed from the antip- 
odes, but when I gave him my name he was 
all interest, and in turn began questioning me. 
My friends in Miami had, he told me, been 
waiting anxiously for news ; that the " Cupid," 
with Sam on board, had been back a week, re- 
porting our starting to the Everglades from the 
Gulf of Mexico. As he intended reaching 
Miami that night, I sent several messages by 
him. 

Devoting more time than usual to the map I 
was making, I was gratified to find that my 
calculations had brought me to within half a 
mile of the source of the river. By my diary 
it should have been Saturday night, — I had 
made Brewer keep the record of time and the 
days of the week, and the two tallied. We 
made a hasty supper, and our beds were so 
comfortable that it was late the next morning 
when we awoke. The canoes were loaded for 
the last time, and we shoved off into the swift 
165 



Across the Everglades 

current of the river. How beautiful everything 
seemed on that quiet Sunday morning ! No 
exertion was necessary but the light turn of the 
paddle to give the canoes their proper course. 
The four miles seemed like one when we 
reached the last bend. 

A house-boat was moored near the river 
bank, on which a man sat reading a news- 
paper, from which he looked up in an in- 
quiring way at our loaded canoes and bronzed 
faces. A few more strokes and we ran along- 
side the dock from which we had started a 
month before. My coming had been already 
heralded, and there was a little crowd assembled 
to welcome my return. Foremost among them 
we saw the smiling face of Sam Roberts, and 
his first remark after congratulating me upon 
my success was, " Why, you are going to have 
a good-shaped nose after all, but you look 
mighty thin." 

And so ends my " Trip across the Ever- 
glades." 



i66 



ANALYSIS OF WATER FROM THE 
EVERGLADES 

100,000 parts contain : 

Total solids 3 1.4 parts. 

Silica 0.28 part. 

Iron oxide and alumina . . 0.64 part. 

Lime 8.48 parts. 

Magnesia trace. 

Chlorides 4.65 parts. 

Nitrites none. 

Nitrates none. 

Sulphates ........ none. 

Ammonia none. 

Organic matter trace. 

Solid matter, chiefly salt (trace), and calcium carbonate. 



167 



VOCABULARY OF THE SEMINOLE 
LANGUAGE 

A, 

Accordion Hi-eets-caw. 

Adam's apple No-quif-pa-tock-ock-naw. 

Air-plant Aw-shen-lock-o. 

Alive Hee-sah-kee. 

Alligator Aal-pa-tah. 

Ankle E-lay-tooke-to-snaw. 

Ant (black) Tock-o-cha-lus-tee. 

Ant (red) Tock-o-cha-cha-tee. 

Antlers E-cho-yi-pee. 

Apple Shot-o-lock-o. 

Arm E-shock-pan. 

Arm (left) Aw-clos-clin-aw. 

Arm (left, above elbow) . . . Aw-kos-ko-nof-o-nee.^^ 

Arm (right) In-clop-pe-claw. 

Arm (right, above elbow) . . . Sock-pof-o-nee. 

Armpits Ho-lo-wa-to-tee-ta-gaw. 

Arrow Chot-a-dox-cha-in-chee. 

Ashes Tock-ees-so. 

Awl Shif-fon-wah. 

Axe Pa-chas-wah. 

B. 

Bachelor E-hi-was-ko. 

Back E-claw. 

Backbone E-claw-fo-nee. 

Back of hand In-tee-ta-pix-tee-e-naw-pa. 

Back teeth E-no-tee-lock-ko. 

Bad Holwa-gus. 

Banana We-len-tee-lo. 

I68 



Across the Everglades 



Barefoot Es-tel-e-pi-e-ca-och-a-co. 

Bare head Cop-a-to-ca-och-a-co. 

Basket Som-pa-chee. 

Beads Co-na-waw. 

Bear Lo-ko-see. 

Beard No-ti-ka-is-see. 

Bear-skin (robe) Lo-cus-haft-ee-pa-ta-ko. 

Beaver-skin O-sho-aw-haft-bee. 

Bed Pa-tan-can. 

Bee (drone) Chil-lock-o-fa. 

Beetle (black) Soxe-so. 

Bell • . . . . Chum-chan-cho-lock-ko. 

Bird Fuss-wah. 

Biscuit Tol-a-la-go-chee. 

Black Luss-tee. 

Blackberry Gatch-ho-ho-e-claw. 

Blackbird O-chot-aw. 

Blackbird (red wing) Shock-kit-law. 

Black-snake Chit-ta-lus-tee. 

Bladder E-ho-sit-waw. 

Blanket Ech-e-taw. 

Blaze Lits-la-it. 

Blood Chaw-taw. 

Blue Ok-ho-la-tee. 

Boat Pah-lo. 

Body E-naw-chee. 

Bog On-lee-wah-nee. 

Bone (cow) Wa-ka-e-fo-nee. 

Boy Che-pon-no. 

Brain (man) E-kol-pee. 

Brass Chat-o-lon-ee. 

Bread Tock-a-la-kee. 

Bread (corn) O-chee-tot-o-la-go-chee. 

Breast (man) E-hoke-pee. 

Breast (woman) E-pee-see. 

Breech-cloth E-kof-kaw. 

Breech-cloth-belt She-won-nock-e-taw. 

Brick Tock-kin-o-shaw. 

169 



Seminole Vocabulary 



Broom Sin-ti-ne-ta-pi-ee-te-caw. 

Broomstick Op-pee. 

Brother E-chock-a-tee. 

Brother (older) E-la-ha. 

Brother (younger) E-cho-see. 

Brown Ho-ko-lon-i-tee. 

Brush Tol-lot-to-chee. 

Bucket Sto-caw. 

Buckskin Cho-see. 

Buggy Tost-to-lese-ta-pof-no-chee. 

Burn No-clit. 

Butter Wa-ka-pish-a-ne-haw. 

C. 

Cactus Gout-lock-o. 

Cake Tot-o-lo-som-po-chee. 

Cake (small) Tock-a-la-kee-chum-po-chee. 

Calf Wal-ka-chee. 

Calf (of leg) E-lim-pock-ko. 

Canoe Bith-low. ■.^- 

Cap Cot-to-po-kaw. 

Cartridge Chat-o-ko-cho. 

Cat Po-sha-chee. 

Cat (wild) Ko-wat-go-chee. 

Catfish Sar-sho-o-kee-lon-waw. 

Cauliflower Ist-so-lock-ko. 

Chair O-like-a-taw. 

Chameleon Kon-kla-po-chee. 

Cheek E-yan-i-waw. 

Cheese Wa-ka-pish-aw-lock-o-la-kee. 

Cherries Pe-kon-o-soch-o-chee. 

Chewing-gum Hil-o-cho-waw. 

Chicken To-to-lo-chee. 

Chicken (Mother Carey's) . . E-chee-pa-hot-tee. 

Chief Micco-or-lee-a-pati-ya. 

Child Es-to-chee. 

Chin No-ti-caw. 

170 



Across the Everglades 



Chip Ech-to-fa-la-ho-lee. 

Clock Ach-a-kil-caw-lock-o. 

Cloud Ho-lo-chee. 

Coat Ai-o-kof-kee-lah. 

Cocoanut Tol-o-so-caw. 

Colt Chil-lock-o-chee. 

Comb Ees-cos-eaw. 

Compass, To Aw-lock-chay. 

Compass E-skil-caw. 

Cord-wood To-fo-la-hi-lee. 

Corn Chee. 

Corn-bread O-chee-tot-o-la-go-chee. 

Corn (green) Och-chee-lo-wat-kee. 

Cow Wal-ka. ■-■ ^SbA-o.. 

Creek Hatch-o-o-chee. 

Crow O-shaw-o-waw. 

Cry (to) Hock-ka-eet-kit. 

Cup Hi-lo-chee. 

Curlew Hi-lo-lo. 

Curlew (pink) Hi-lo-lo-chaw-tee. 



D. 

Dark Um-us-ka-taw. 

Date (to) E-lo-chaw. 

Day Nit-taw. 

Day (To-) Mon-son-nit-taw. 

Dead E-lot-tee. ^ 

Death Il-lit. I 

Deer-meat E-cho-push-waw. 

Deer-skin (robe) E-cho-haft-ee-pa-ta-kaw. 

Deer-walk E-cho-yak-op-po-sit. . 

Dew Chit-cho. j 

Dog E-faw. 

Door Shot-ho-te-caw. 

Doorway Aw-ho-gee. }■ 

Dove Posh-e-ho-we, ^ 

Duck Fo-cho, a 



171 ^ 



Seminole Vocabulary 



Eagle . 
Ear. . 
Ear-lobe 
East . 
East star 
Egg . 
Elbow 
Enemy 
Entrails 
Eye. . 
Eyebrow 
Eyelash 



. Hat-tit-e-fon-caw. 

. E-hots-ko. 

. Hots-cote-es-caw. 

. Ha-so-saw. 

. Ho-so-shaw. 

, Its-hoos-tas-gay. 

. E-poo-chee. 

, Ho-thlee. 

. Fit-chee-law-pots-kee. 

. E-tox-lo-waw, 

. To-do-no-lup-pa-is-see. 

. Tose-lis-kee. 



F. 

Face To-so-faw. 

Fan She-ma-caw. 

Fat Nee-haw. 

Father (my) Solk-go-chee. 

Feathers Shee, 

Feed (to) Hum-bi-oa-lon-es-chay. 

Female infant Hoke-e-to-chee. 

Fence To-hop-kee. 

File E-show-gaw. 

Fingers In-ka-we-sa-kaw. 

Fire Tode-caw. 

Fire-wood (burning) Tock-hot-chee. 

First finger Som-kil-smil-kaw. 

Fish Thla-theo. 

Fish-hawk Hos-cho-kee-waw. 

Fishing-pole Phon-e-o-hop-ee. 

Fish-line Sar-sho-e-faw-caw. 

Fish-net Whe-ah. 

Flea Cuff-ko. 

Flour To-paw. 

Flower Im-pock-pock-ee. 

Fly Tsa-na. 

172 



Across the Everglades 



Foot . 

Footprint 
Forehead 
Forget 
Fox 
Friend 
Frog . , 
Frog (Tree-) 
Front teeth . 



. E-lee. 

• Es-tel-e-hop-o, 

. Ka-ho-waw. 

. Cha-ho-sit. 

. Chil-la. 

. His-see. 

, Aw-pa-to-naw. 

. Skin-cho-caw. 

. E-no-tee-ho-maw. 



G. 

Gall berries Aw-shit-ta-taw. 

Ginger-cake (large) Tock-a-la-kee-chom-paw. 

Ginseng Hi-lis-hot-kee. 

Girl Hoke-ti-chee. 

Give (to) Ah-mos-chay. 

Glass tumbler Shot-hit-go-chee. 

Gnat Scop-o-swaw. 

Go (to) Hi-e-pus. 

Goat Cho-wa-taw. 

Goat (mountain) E-cho-wa-a-taw. 

Good Hintz-kay. 

Goose A-hak-wa. 

Grapes Chil-loos-wa. 

Grasshopper A-caw-ko-taw. 

Gravy E-po-see-waw. 

Gray Sho-po-ka-hot-ka-chee. 

Green Pi-e-lon-o-maw. 

Ground E-ho-tee. 

Gun Ayt-sah. 

H. 

Hair E-caw-e-see. 

Hammock • . . . Sho-a-los-ga-taw. 

Hand In-kee. 

Hatchet Po-chos-wo-chee. 

Hawk Sho-caw. 

Head E-caw. 

173 



Seminole Vocabulary- 



Head-dress Eka-sim-enah-hits-ka. 

Hear (to) Im-po-hos-chee. 

Heart E-fer-caw. 

Heaven In-like-e-taw. 

Hell E-lich-es-caw. 

Heron (great blue) Wak-ko-lot-ko. 

Heron (great white) O-shot-caw. 

Heron (little blue) Wak-ko-lot-ko-o-hi-lot-tee. 

Heron (little white) O-shot-co-chee. 

Hickory-tree O-chee-o-pee. 

Hide (cow) Wa-ka-haft-bee. 

Hip Im-po-loke-cho. 

Hoe E-sho-e-caw. 

Hog Sok-a. 

Hog (wild) Su-caw-pin-si-law, 

Home (my) Aw-lock-a-taw-chaw-ho-tee. 

Hommock Ez-ee-lo-faw. 

Honey Chum-pee. 

Horn Yi-pee. 

Horse Cha-lok-ko. 

Hot Hai-see. 

Hunt (to) Fi-i-it-lot-es-chee. 



Ibis (white) . 

Ice 

Ice-hatchet . . 
Ice-house . . 
Ice-machine . 
Ice-moulds . . 
Ice-saw . . . 
Ice-tongs . . 
Ice-water . . 
Indian . . . 
Indian's heaven 
Infant .... 
Instep .... 



I. 

Annee. 

Hi-lo-lo. 

It-to-tee. 

It-to-tee-butch-es-waw. 

It-to-tee-in-so-go. 

It-to-tee-saw-gaw. 

It-to-tee-ock-les-waw. 

It-to-tee-ish-fo-gaw. 

It-to-tee-she-lot-caw. 

It-to-tee-we-waw. 

Es-ta-chat-tee. 

Po-ya-fits-a. 

Est-to-chee. 

E-lit-ta-pix-tee-e-fa-cho-to-kee-not-ee. 

174 



Across the Everglades 

Iron Shot-to. 

Iron kettle ^ . Hot-cus-waw. 

Island O-tee. 

J. 
Jay (blue) Tos-chee. 



Kettle . . 
Key . , 
Kingfisher 
Knife . . 
Knife-belt 
Knife (dull) 
Knife (sharp) 
Knuckle . . 



K. 

Alk-us-wah, 

Ees-how-ees-caw. 

O-cho-ka. 

Slof-ka. 

She-won-nock-e-ta-sa-lof-kaw. 

Sa-lof-ka-tof-nee. 

Sa-lof-ka-fots-kee . 

In-ka-we-sock-ka-e-to-pee. 



L. 

Lake Ok-hass-ee. 

Lamp Ko-lo-kee. 

Lantern Ko-lo-kee-e-ho-tee. 

Laugh (to) Op-peel-it. 

Leg Hats-ka-wats. 

Leg (above knee) Chee-hof-ee. 

Leg (below knee) Chee-host-go-waw. 

Leggings Aw-fa-tee-kaw. . 

Lemonade Yel-la-haw. 

Like (to) Chi-yot-chit. 

Limpkin Ho-shock-e-a-caw. 

Little Chat-kee. 

Liver E-lo-pee. 

Living coals Toke-la-waw. 

Lung In-hee-shock-e-tav/. 

M. 

Maid (old) E-he-se-ko. 

Mallet Chot-to-go-chee, 



Seminole Vocabulary 



Man Es-tee. 

Man (married) E-hi-wa-o-chit-ee. 

Man (old) Ach-o-be-li-tee. 

Manatee E-chos-waw. 

Meat A-pess-wah. 

Milk Wah-ku-pissee. 

Minnow Sar-sho-chee. 

Moccasin Ist-e-lee-pik-kah. 

Mocking-bird O-shi-hi-yi. 

Money Shaw-toke-e-naw-waw. 

Moon Ha-lits-chey. 

Morning Hal-ay-yat-kee. 

Morning star Hi-yi-tee-e-chaw. 

Morrow (To-) A-pox-see. 

Mosquito O-he-aw. 

Moss Aw-shen-waw. 

Mouth E-choke-o-waw. 

Mulberry-tree Kee. 

N. 

Naked E-caw-e-pee. 

Navel E-ho-cho-waw. 

Neck No-ka-pee. 

Needle Ees-la-pode-caw. 

Negro Es-tee-lus-tee. 

Night Hih-lee. 

Night (To-) Mo-shon-nist-lee. 

Night (To-morrow) A-pox-see-nist-lee. 

No Hick-ast-chee. 

Nose E-ho-po. 

Nostril E-po-haw-kee. 



Oak . 

Oak-leaf 
Oatmeal 
Oats . 
Onion . 



Lok-tsa-sum-pa. 

Lok-e-tum-ba-e-cee. 

To-lee-ko. 

Til-e-ko. 

Ti-fum-bee. 

176 



Across the Everglades 



Opossum Sok-a-hat-kee, 

Orange Il-la-haw. 

Otter O-sa-na. 

Otter-skin O-shon-aw-haft-bee. 

Owl O-pah. 

Ox Wal-ka-ho-non-waw. 

Oysters Whit-lo-ko. 

P. 

Paddle Is-kahf-ko-chee. 

Paint Co-lo-waw. 

Paint (black) Co-lo-wa-lus-tee. 

Paint (red) Co-lo-wa-chaw-tee. 

Paint (yellow) Co-lo-waw-la-nee. 

Palm (of hand) In-ko-faw. 

Palmetto (cabbage-tree) . . . Tol-o-lock-o. 

Palmetto (seed) Tol-o-neck-la. 

Palmetto (young cabbage-tree) . Tol-o-chee. 

Panther Kat-sa. 

Paroquet Pot-see-lon-ee. 

Partridge Ko-ai-kee. 

Peanut Com-to-lock-o. 

Pepper-sauce . Ho-wah. 

Persimmon Shot-taw. 

Persimmon (seed) Shot-o-nin-kla. 

Persimmon (tree) ...... Shot-i-pee. 

Pickerel Shup-sho-chee. 

Picture Es-ti-ha-kee. 

Pillow We-hop-caw. 

Pin Ti-sos-so-chee. 

Pine ,. Choo-lee. 

Pineapple Chili-i-hos-waw. 

Pistol Ta-pate-go-chee.. 

Plant (to) Ah-ho-chee. 

Plenty Or-gis. 

Poor Wi-o-kee-tus-chay. 

Pot (of pottery) Le-ho-chaw. 

Potato (sweet) Aw-haw. 

12 177 



Seminole Vocabulary 



Potato (white) 
Potted ham 
Pottery . . . 
Powder . . . 
Pulse .... 
Pumpkin (Indian) 
Pumpkin (white man 

Puppy 



. Aw-hot-to-pox-to-chee. 

. Aw-pis-ta-lake-a-to-me. 

. Polk-ko. 

. To-ho-to-waw. 

. In-ka-shock-a-tee. 

. Chos-chee. 

. Chos-chee-lock-o. 

. E-fa-chee. 

Q. 

Quail ........... Fo-a-kee. 

Quinine He-swan-i-hit-caw. 



Rabbit Cho-fee. 

Rabbit (gray) Cho-fee-chaw-hot-ee. 

Rabbit (skin) Cho-fee-haft-bee. 

Raccoon Wood-ko. 

Railing See-la-hot-tit-taw. 

Railroad (car) To-to-lese-pof-a-naw-o-cha-go, 

Rat Ches-she. 

Rattlesnake Chit-ko-la-la-go-chee. 

Red Chat-tee. 

Redbird Fost-chi-taw. 

Rib In-to-law. 

Ridge (of nose) E-po-fa-nee. 

Rifle E-chaw. 

Ring Stink-ko-shot-tl-tee-caw. 

Robin Eash-pock-a-waw. 

Rookery Fo-shon-nits-kaw. 

Rump E-tol-kay. 



Sack . 
Saddle . 
Saliva . 
Salt. . 
Sardines 



S. 

. Shoke-chaw. 
. O-pa-tock-o. 
. E-to-ka-lo-swa. 
. Oke-tsam-wa. 
. Cot-lo-chee. 
17S 



Across the Everglades 



Sausage . . . 

Sausage (beef) 

Sausage (pork) 

Sawdust . . 

Saw-palmetto 

Scalp . 

Sea . . 

See (to) 

Seine . 

Sell (to) 

Shirt . 

Shoes . 

Silkworm 

Silver . . 

Sing (to) 

Sister . . 

Skin . . 

Sleep (to) 

Smell (to) 

Smoke 

Snake . . 

Snake (green) 

Snake-plant 

Snake (spotted) 

Snipe . . . 

Soap . . . 

Sole (of foot) 

Son (my) 

Soup . . . 

Sour . . . 

Space (between knuckles) 

Sparrow-hawk 

Spider . . 

Spider-web 

Spring . . 

Squash 

Squirrel . 

Squirrel (red) 



. Fit-chee. 
. Wa-ka-fit-chee. 
. Suck-a-fit-chee, 
. To-fo-ga-ta-leg-a-mee. 
. She-hop-paw. 
. Cho-pock-e-taw. 
. We-hat-ka. 
. He-ches-chee. 
. Wee-aw. 
. Yi-co-chay. 
, Hi-ef-cof-ka-taw. 
. Stila-pa-won-hee. 
. To-ka-tes-kee-at-tee-lo-e-waw. 
. Chat-to-ko-na-wah. 
. E-hi-e-kit. 
. Cho-wen-waw. 
. Shon-aw-haft-bee, 
. Sop-pa-lon-es-chay. 
. Oh-in-i-it. 
. Eh-cho-chee. 
. Chit-to. 
. O-co-la-chit-ta. 
. Chit-ta-hum-pe-ta. 
. Chit-ta-lock-a-chee. 
. We-hot-ko-fo-sho-wo-chee. 
. So-cose-caw. 
. Es-tel-e-ho-faw. 
. Sop-po-chee. 
. O-po-swaw. 
. Ka-mok-see. 
. In-ko-yock-pec, 
. Sho-ko-chee. 
. Och-klo-kow. 
. Och-o-klon-we-ahr, 
. We-waw-ese-pay-lot-caw. 
. Tahai-ah. 
. E-thlo. 

. Klo-hi-lee-chaw-tee. 
179 



Seminole Vocabulary 



Squirrel (gray) Klo-hot-go-chee. 

Stomach Im-pa-shaw. 

Stove Tode-ca-e-ho-tee. 

T. 

Tail E-hot-chee. 

Teeth E-no-tee. 

Throat Sin-no-ka-nil-caw. 

Thumb Som-kit-kee. 

Thunder Ti-nit-kee. 

Toad Ko-tee. 

Tobacco Hee-chee, 

Toe (large) Es-tel-e-eeds-kee. 

Toe (nail) E-la-ni-ka-so-swaw. 

Toe (second) Es-tel-e-nock-clay-ho-e-claw. 

Tongue To-los-waw. 

Toothpick Ees-ti-no-tee-some-fo-tee-taw. 

Towel In-ka-e-to-shi-eets-caw. 

Town Tolo-fa. 

Trunk . To-how-ho-waw. 

Turkey Pen-na-waw. 

Turkey (beard) Pen-na-waw-en-to-wee. 

Turkey (cry) Pen-cha-ho-gaw. 

Turkey (gobbler) Pen-ni-chaw. 

Turkey (hen) Pen-nit-kee. 

Turtle Lot-sa. 

Turtle (land) Lo-chaw. 

Turtle (soft shell) Ho-lock-wa. 

U. 

Upper eyelid Tode-le-waw-hos-pee. 

Upper lip . Choke-hos-pon-a-paw. 

V. 

Valise To-hi-o-waw. 

Village Cho-co-ta-ti-yee. 

Vulture Sho-lee. 

Vulture (black) Sho-lee-pee-los-pes-ko. 

1 80 



Across the Everglades 



w. 

Wagon Tose-to-lese-taw. 

Walk (pavement) Ho-low-paw. 

Wash-pavement (bcwl) .... Ho-e-so-clope-pa-lock-a-naw. 

Water We-wa. 

Water-lily Shil-o-fo-haw. 

Water-tank We-wa-ho-tee, 

Weed Aw-tock-claw. 

Whang (for sewing moccasins) . To-shay-sil-caw. 

Whippoorwill Chip-ee-lop-law. 

Whisk-broom Sin-ti-ne-ta-pi-ee-to-caw. 

Whiskey Y-o-mee. 

Whistle (to) Tote-ca-taw, 

White Hot-ka-tee. 

Whooping-crane Wa-to-law. 

Widow E-hi-lift-mus-chee. 

Widower E-hi-wa-se-ke. 

Wild Ho-nit-chay. 

Willow-tree Aw-won-aw. 

Wolf Yee-haw. 

Woman Hoke-tee. 

Woman (old) Hoke-tee-li-tee. 

Wood (to burn) E-to. 

Worm U-e-cot-taw. 

Wrist In-tee-ti-pix-tee-e-toke-kee-tay-gaw. 

Y. 

Yesterday Pox-son-gay. 

Young (man) Ho-non-wa-mi-nit-ti-tee. 

Young (woman) Hoke-tee-ti-mlt-nit-ti-tee. 

Months. 

January Ho-ti-lee-has-ee. 

February Ti-sot-to-chee. 

March Ti-sot-to-lock-o. 

April Kee-hos-ee. 

i8i 



Seminole Vocabulary 



May . . 
June . . 
July . . 
August . 
September 
October . 
November 
December 



. Got-so-hos-ee. 
. Hi-yote-chee. 
, Hi-yote-lock-o. 
. Ti-ose-go-chee. 
. Ti-ose-go-lock-o. 
. E-ho-lee. 
. Si-lof-slop-ko. 
. Si-lof-so-kee. 



Numerals. 

One Hum-kin. 

Two Ho-ko-lin. 

Three To-che-nes. 

Four Os-tin. 

Five Chaw-kee-bin. 

Six A-pa-kin. 

Seven Ko-lo-pa-kin, 

Eight Chin-na-pa-kin. 

Nine Os-ta-pa-kin. 

Ten Pa-lin. 

Eleven Pa-lin-hum-kin-hum-kin. 

Twelve Pa-lin-hum-kin-ho-ko-lin. 

Thirteen Pa-lin-hum-kin-to-che-nes. 

Fourteen Pa-lin-hum-kin-os-tin. 

Twenty Pa-lin-ho-ko-lin. 

Twenty-one Pa-lin-ho-ko-lin-hum-kin. 

Twenty-three Pa-lin-ho-ko-lin-to-che-nes. 

Thirty Pa-lin-to-che-nes. 

Forty Pa-lin-ostin. 

Fifty Pa-lin-chaw-kee-bin. 

Sixty Pa-lin-a-pa-kin. 

Seventy Pa-lin-ko-la-pa-kin. 

Eighty Pa-lin-chin-na-pa-kin. 

Ninety Pa-lin-os-ta-pa-kin. 

One hundred Chope-kee-hum-kin. 

Two hundred Chope-kee-ho-ko-lin. 

Three hundred Chope-kee-too-chin-ee. 

182 



Across the Everglades 



Sentences. 

A great deal Stu-es-taw. 

All gone Suc-chay. 

All sit down A-pok-es-chay. 

Are you sleepy ? Che-mo-on-ot-es-chay. 

Bird cry Hoc-es-chee. 

By and by Aw-tee-tus-chee. 

Come here He-a-maw. 

Deer walk E-cho-wak-op-po-sit. 

Don't know Kit-lix-chay. 

Do you hear ? Im-po-hitch-caw. 

Give me money So-toke-kee-na-aw-mun-chee. 

Glad to see Ha-tee-e-tew-chee-hick-chay-hit-es- 

chay. 

Good-by Ay-lip-ka-shaw. 

Good luck Som-mus-ka-lar-nee-shaw. 

Good wishes to white man . . Som-mus-ka-lar-nee-sha-maw-lin. 

Green corn dance Shot-cay-taw. 

I am lost Chi-ho-ches-chee. 

I can't find it He-chos-kos-chay. 

I saw deer run E-cho-lid-kit-he-chus-chee. 

I saw deer walk E-cho-yac-op-po-sit-hi-chus-chee. 

I take Sup-pa-lon-es-chay. 

I will grow tall I-ti-it-tot-chi-mi-he-taw-mi-he-taw- 

te-hee. 

Let us go I-hoo-es-chay. 

Let us hunt Lop-fi-ets-chay. 

Lie down and sleep No-chit-pay-lon-es-chay. 

Like them Chi-yot-chit. 

Long time O-fun-net-taw. 

Many come I-wox-chee. 

Me too . , . . , On-e-wa. 

Mother wants to keep him , . Its-kee-e-i-chee-tok-naw. 

My knife is long Sa-lof-ka-chop-kaw. 

Sit down Li-kus-chay. 

Sit down on steps Hi-top-cay-ta-li-kus-chay. 

Sit on floor To-pa-li-kus-chay. 



Seminole Vocabulary 



Sun come up . 
Sun gone down 
To pole a boat 
To put moccasins 
To row a boat 
Wash hands . 
Water rough . 
What is it ? . 
Which way ? . 
Wind blew hard 
You eat plenty 
You lie . . . 



. Ha-sha-i-sit. 

. Ha-sha-col-lok-tit. 

. Che-to-gaw. 

. Es-tel-e-pi-e-ka-u-cha-ko-ot-e-he. 

. Scof-gaw. 

. In-ka-o-ko-sit. 

. Im-e-lo-la-tee-ti-yee. 

. Nok-a-tee. 

. Stom-a-taw. 

. Is-chay-to-ma-es-chee. 

. Hum-bug-a-chay-hum-pee-taw. 

. Lox-a-dox-chay. 



184 



INDEX 

PAGE 

Accident, serious 94 

to provisions 25 

Accurate plotting 140 

Advance by inches 156 

Alligators 28 

Niger ■ 80 

Scelerops 80 

sharp-nosed 72 

slceletons 1 60 

Analysis of water 167 

Arrival of expedition 33 

Artificial horizon 51, 127 

Backward track 139 

Bay of Florida 83 

Bicycle log 57, 109 

Big Cypress Swamp 14, 105 

Billy Fiewel 24 

Billy Harney 31 

Bird Bush 96 

Black Caesar 67 

Black mirror 127 

Blind leads 134 

Blocked course 121 

Boggy Creek 83 

" Boxed up" 145 

Brewer, Ed., arrival of 63 

description of 63 

discouraged 135 

Brewer's escape 161 

method „ 109 

old camp 159 

pluck 147 

185 



Index 

PAGE 

Brewer's snake 84 

story 87 

Cabbage-palm iz6, 131, 153 

Cabomba Caroliniana 40 

Calendars agree 165 

Camp 41, 113, 13s, 154 

comfortable 143 

old 127, 160 

picturesque 132 

Campsa Lucius 80 

Canoes i6, 35> 47, 93, ^°7> I39, ^5°y ^S?, 160 

Cape Sable 98 

Cattle range 2Z 

Ceding of Florida 9 

Charlatan's deception 84 

Children's toys . 43 

Chronometers 1 16 

Clothing 50 

Cocoanut Grove 60, 65 

Computing distance 56 

Cooking breakfast I17 

cabbage-palm 154 

difficult 31 

outfit 54 

stove 55, 114 

Coonti plant 41 

Cotton Key 96 

Crawfish 90 

Crocodile : Group Crocodilus 74 

Crocodilus Acutus 75 

Americanus 78 

Bipocratus 75 

Calaphactus 79 

Cataphractus 80 

Frontatus 76 

Intermedius 79 

Johnstoni 80 

186 



Index 

FAGB 

Crocodile : Group Crocodilus. 

Crocodilus Marginatus 78 

Moreleti 79 

Palustris 77 

Porosus 77 

Rhombifer 79 

Robustus 79 

Vulgaris 76 

eggs 73 

escape of 71 

first notice of 72 

home of the 69 

hunt 70 

nature of 72 

nest of 72 

*' Cupid," farewell to 108 

return to 71 

selection of 60 

Cutler 65 

Deer 26, 125, 146 

Departure from Miami 64 

fi-om Philadelphia 58 

from sloop 108 

De Soto's map 11 

Diet 145 

Difficulties 27, 31, 110, 117, 120, 148, 155 

Dive, unlucky 94 

Dr. Tiger 45 

Dry land ia6 

plates 107 

Eggs, valuable 112 

Everglades, centre of 131 

character of 138 

extent of 13 

Experiences, former, in Florida 47 

Exploration, first 21 

Explorer's enthusiasm 131 

187 



Index 

PAGE 

Fauna and flora 58 

Fish 29, 67, 83 

duel 141 

spearing 85 

Fitting out the " Cupid" 61 

Fowey Rocks Light-House 66 

Frog, Everglade I16 

Game 23, III, I18, 134, 159 

Gavialis Gangeticus 75 

Geography, early 10 

errors in 13 

Grass, dangerous 1 10 

saw- 25 

sea of 104, 132 

terrible strip of 138 

Guns 56 

Hammer Point 89 

Harney River 24 

source of 104 

Harney's camp 32 

Healthfulness in winter 15 

Heat 122, 156 

Ice in Florida 15 

Incubation of eggs 74 

Indian adornment 45 

attire 43 

at work 41 

camps 4^) ^^^ 

cooking 129 

fires 28, 129, 137 

honor 20, 163 

paddling 37 

route 103 

secrecy 20 

veracity • • • 20, 88 

vocabulary 168 

18S 



Index 

PAGE 

Indian War i6 

watch-tower 143 

writings 128 

Indian Key 96 

Indians 16, 113 

taken by surprise 17 

Ingraham expedition 21 

Inhabitants 90 

Intruders 142 

Islands, frequent ...152 

peculiar loi 

Jew-Fish Creek 82 

Kerosene stove 114 

Key Largo 89 

Kite, the Everglade 112 

" Land of the Big Snake" 85 

Legends 67 

Limpkin, the 112, 116 

Long Key 124 

Lower Matecumbe 97 

Map, De Soto's 11 

early French 12 

government 11 

of route • 9 

Marine life io> 93 

Mental annoyance 135 

Miami changed 62 

Jimmie's camp 162 

River 39, 166 

source of 4° 

Mosquitoes 99 

Muscle-soreness 136 

"Nancy" , 23 

Natural aquarium 119 

barriers , . . . Iio 

189 



Index 

PAGE 

Navigation . 96 

Night sounds 116 

Northwest Cape 100 

Object of expedition 9 

Observation, first 103 

Old Tommy 18 

Omelets, novel 121 

Otter 105, 112 

Outfit, general 50 

Ingraham 22 

Palmetto shacks 42 

Panther track 142 

Photography, difHcult 106 

Pirates 66 

Plume birds Ill 

Pole, broken 133 

the use of . . 37 

Poling, easy 144 

exhausting < 135 

Post-ofHce, curious 65 

Preparations 35 

Progress, rapid 141 

rate of 114 

slow 14S 

Provisions • • • ^^ 

accident to 25 

counting 135 

shortage of 100 

unsatisfactory 153 

Rain squalls 66 

Result of trip 33 

Robert Osceola 105 

Rookeries 119 

Rubber bed 49 

Sam Roberts 61 

190 



Index 

PAGE 

Scientific outfit 51 

study 58 

Scouting expeditions 19 

Sea of grass 104, 132 

Seminoles. See Indians. 

Shallow bays 89 

Shark River loi 

Shipping equipment 57 

Ship's graveyard 68 

Sleeping-bags 49 

Snake by moonlight 152 

fang 86 

great 88 

in camp 151 

life 120, 136 

moccasin 161 

precautions 136 

skeleton 86 

Snipe Ill 

Sofkee 130 

spoon 43 

Soldier Key 67 

Southerly course 69 

Sponges 9*1 93 

Springs 1 19 

Squalls 100 

Station No. i 102 

No. 2 114 

No. 3 lai 

No. 4 I3» 

No. s 13s. 141 

No. 6 140, 159, 161 

No. 7 14* 

No. 8 147 

No. 9 149 

No. lo 154 

No. n 158 

No. 12 159 

I9» 



Index 

PAGE 

Station No. 13 161 

Surgery 94 

Sweet-bay tea 123 

Tarpon ground loo 

-Ten Thousand Islands loi 

Tent, selection of 53 

Terrapin 1 19 

shells 128 

Tree lookout 130 

Tropical foliage 85 

fruits 89 

Turtle, gigantic 98 

Vaseline k la Seminole 68 

Vision limited 30 

Water, character of 14, 115 

clear 138 

fresh loz 

glass 92 

leads 117, 124, 153 

low 113,140,148,15s 

plants 115 

purity of II5 

smooth loi 

supply of 61, 119 

way, narrow 103 

Western Reservation 19 

White man's greed . . • 163 

"Willie Bee" 106 

" Willie Tiger" 44 

Willoughby Key 131 

Wood ibis 103 

schooner 99 

Wreckers 66 

THE END. 



192 



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_. - ■^>"\AVVV»^, fs ^<£» A*<22Z'«^* Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process 

Cj,.^ ♦ ^k^i*" J J^ r'*T^ % Neutralizing Agent: Magnesium Oxide 

rt» • " " ^^ «^ • ' ■* - Treatment Date: 







JUL 



PRESERVATION TECHNOLOGIES, LP. 
1 1 1 Tliomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 1 6066 
(724)779-2111 

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HECKMAN 

BINDERY INC. 

#^ 1989 




N. MANCHESTER, 
'^e^ INDIANA 46962 



